Keeping up with the Asians
by Suhwa
Summary: Meet the Asian clan, beginning from top class CEO Wang Yao, the silent swordsman Kiku, sweet Mei, the psycho Ha Eung, party girl Ha Yeon, and the science geek Leon. Join them in their not so boring daily lives, their romances, and so on. SKfem! I OWN NONE OF THEM. Review!
1. In Which We Meet The Asians

The respectable businessman, Wang Yao wakes up at six. He washes his face, showers, changes into fresh clothes and dries his hair. After that, he goes to the kitchens to cook food for his 'nuisances.'

The acknowleged high schooler, Kiku rises from his bed at seven. He showers, then reads his favorite detective novel, as he packs his schoolbag along with his wooden swords for _kumdo._

The shy high-teen, Mei gets up at 7:10am, and waits for a while as her foster brother could still be in the shower. She then moves towards the bathroom, sure that _ni-san_ has left. After refreshing herself, she goes straight for the kitchens.

The psychopath, Ha Eung Lee wakes to the trumpeting alarms at 7:20. He knows there is a bathroom linked to his _hyung_ 's room, but he waits patiently for Mei to leave the shower. He doesn't want _hyungnim_ to blow up.

The party rocker and fashionistar Ha Yeon Lee wakes up at 7:30. She smells of perfume, her friend Alfred's cologne, and of drink. She staggers to her _oppa_ 's room, to use the bathroom and returns ten minutes later, fresh, sparkling, and with a hangover.

The moody-and-ever-so-serious Leon is thrown out of bed by the psychopath, who yells at him for being a _babbo_ and tells him to get up. He groggily marches to the toilet and reemerges, wearing a shirt with equations written over it.

Chairs scrape noisily and the businessman tells his siblings to _eat up, aru, you children are so much trouble._ Kiku spoons his food carefully into his mouth, the demure, polite one. Mei is eating a dumpling with care. Ha-Eung is done with his food already and stands to leave. His sister hugs her foster brother around the waist while taking a chunk out of the dumpling he is holding. Leon just looks bored with everything.

Then the cars start arriving one by one. First it is Yao's chauffeur, and Yao waves good bye from the door. Then, Kiku's friend Feliciano yells at him to come out and bring his sister Mei. Ha-Eung has already left a while ago, and a flashy sportscar arrives, with the owner shouting for _Yeon Lee_ _, come out, heros don't wait forever._ Leon hops on his bike with his friend Emil, and the large house is finally quiet.

Mei is the first to return, with Kiku on her side. They are watching Japanese anime on TV when Ha Eung opens the door with a bang. As usual, the boy retires to his room to experiment. Leon returns later, talking about seeing the best fireworks ever, and Ha Yeon arrives, talking with her friends on the phone about music-only to leave, she has a party to attend. Lastly, Yao arrives, cursing in Chinese about the idiot buyers.

Supper is quiet compared to breakfast, and Leon and Ha Eung return to their rooms-homework. Mei watches Chinese movies with Yao, while Kiku practices his calligraphy. Soon, Mei's head starts drooping and Yao sends her to bed. Leon is playing games upstairs by the sound of it, and Ha Eung curses in Korean because he stubbed his toe or something. Kiku heads off at 11, bowing respectively to _nisan_ and bidding him a good night's sleep. Yao sighs and waits for his sister to come home, and come home she does-ten minutes before curfew. Her friend _(boyfriend)_ Alfred assures Yao that she is all right, just tired. Yao thinks about punching the boy, then thinks better. He gives his sister some cool water which she drinks gratefully, and watches her as she does her Latin homework, cursing like her brother all the while. It is two when Yao retires to bed.

Another day over.

Tic Toc goes the clock.

He wakes up four hours later.


	2. A Month Before Exams

"I heard it's time for your examinations."

A chopstick fell to the floor. "No." Ha Eung glared at his foster brother Yao. "This is blasphemy. I refuse to believe it." Yao crossed his arms. "It is the truth, whether or not you believe it." All of his siblings groaned.

"Time..." Kiku could not believe it. It had seemed like only yesterday when the semesters had begun. Now the midterms were a month away. "Awwww, _oppa_ is such a killjoy!" Ha Yeon glared at Yao. She had been in for dinner, and she had not expected _this_ coming. Leon rolled his eyes. "It's not like we won't study by ourselves! Right?"

There was a pause in which Yao left the room, and returned holding-"Your progress reports arrived."-the _dreaded_ progress reports. Mei squealed as hers were opened. "Mei's is good enough."Yao nodded approvingly. "Hooray!" Kiku's progress report was with the normal As and compliments. "Keep up the good work." Kiku nodded. It wasn't hard. "Ha Eung Lee, your teacher said you..." Yao sighed. "Me what?" "You have problems socializing." "So." The teen started playing with the carving knife on the table. "Look, just because you passed some stupid test doesn't make you a psychopath!" Yao was fed up with the boy's behavior. "Um, _oppa,_ it's actually the real thing? The one made from...CIA or FBI or..whatever." "Yeon, you aren't helping." Yao decided to move on. He opened a new report-now this one he would have plenty to say of. His younger sister was renowned for _living her life_. She was always running around with her friends, shopping, videogaming, anything but studying. He glared at her before reading. "Well, this is all because you never study! You ALWAYS play, party, whatsoever. Just look at your grades! English-A!" As he registered what was written, his eyes widened. "What?" Yao reread. The A was permanent. "I'll read it for you if you can't understand." Ha Eung snatched his sister's report. "Math-A. Biology-A. History-A. Chinese-A." And so went on the list of As. Yao could swear his sister was smirking. The brat. "And you say I never study." "Well, your teacher said something about you chasing after the boys, and I do not like the sound of it." _That_ got her. "What the..." He opened the last envelope and scanned it. "Leon, why did you feel the need to send off firecrackers? And why during class?" His youngest brother stared at him. "Because it was fun." He gave all of them the death stare.

"This is the last straw! I...I have spoiled you children...I don't know how I am ever going to see your parents when I go to heaven!" "That is, if they are in heaven." Ha Yeon's voice was low, but Yao heard her.

"Silent! We've got perverts-" "-Watching anime does not make me a pervert, _nisan_!" Kiku was loud for once but Yao ignored him. "TV addicts-" "-You watched too!"Mei argued but it was no use. "-Psychos-" "You said that test was stupid in the first place." Ha Eung muttered under his breath. "-drunk party girls-" "Wait, I am sober most of the times!" Ha Yeon glared at her brother. "-firecrack manias." Yao finished.

"Kiku, when I picked you as my adopted brother from the center when you were one, and when I was twelve, I didn't pick you to be a _otaku_!" "What's wrong with anime?" Kiku argued back. "You are getting perverted ideas about...about..." Yao turned red. "..about what?" "Never mind." snapped the tired CEO. "Mei, when aunt died and I took you in, my dear cousin, I don't think she would have let me if she had known her seventeen year old was going to watch TV all the time!" "I don't think she would have minded." Mei retorted for once. "You twins, I believe your parents would have sacked me if they knew their seventeen year olds were either crazy or frivolous thanks to me!" The twins gave him a look that said _whatever._ "And Leon, I _am_ your oldest cousin and _you_ are my responsibility no matter what that _british idiot_ says. Just listen to me!" Leon looked bored.

"From now on, until exams are finished, you are to follow the rules I have set out for you." The table exploded. "But..." "No buts." Yao concluded as he handed his family each a piece of paper. The teens all studied the long list.

 _1\. No TV._

"What?"

All of the youngsters glared at Yao. "Continue reading, if you aren't that busy to glare at me." Mei looked horrorstruck.

 _2\. No Parties._

"But...I got invited to Francis Bonnefoy's supercool party!" Ha Yeon opened her mouth and protested, clearly upset. "You can tell Mr. Bonnefoy that you can't come." "OMG. That is so uncool of you, _oppa_!" Yao wondered what had happened to the polite youngster who he had raised.

 _3\. No Drinking._

"Too bad, sis." Ha Eung smirked at his sister. "Thanks for nothing, loser." Ha Yeon looked as if she wanted to strangle her twin.

 _4\. No Anime._

"That was cruel." The Korean girl, seeing the utterly heartbroken expression on her siblings' faces, looked at her big brother. "This anime...This cartoon thing.." Yao struggled to speak. "You spend too much money and time on it." "How could you?" Kiku, for once, lost his temper. "I mean, anime didn't harm anything! _Nisan,_ I thought better of you!" "This is what anime can do to ruin lives. You stare at the living proof." Yao was firm. He was the great businessman, Yao Wang. He would not be intimidated by some teens.

 _5\. NO ALFRED._

Ha Yeon looked at the paper. "You have got to be kidding." "I am not." The girl looked at her brother, then at the paper. "I mean, he's a _great_ friend, and why should I stop meeting him because of this dumb sheet of paper and some shitty exams that are thirty days away?" "Ha Yeon Lee, watch your mouth." Yao decided then and there that the next time he saw the Jones boy, he would throw him out the window. "Ahh, true love!" Mei smiled at her sister. "Shut up. We are not in a relationship." "Yes, if she is in a relationship with that hamburger eating jock, I am going to cut his head off." Yao _had_ to agree with his crazy younger brother for once.

 _6\. No more video games._

 _7\. No more experimenting._

 _8\. No more knife throwing._

 _9\. No more computer time._

The list stretched on and on, and by the end, number _50,_ the teens were ready to revolt. "So what do you think?" Yao casually asked his adopted brothers and sisters. "You are a _baka._ " Kiku walked away, muttering something about his _Kuroshintoji_ and how he would protect them. "Goodbye, Bangtan Boys, remember that I love you!" Mei left, parting with the television with overwhelmed emotion. "...I was going to tell her that I bought her tickets." Yao spoke in a subdued voice. "I hate this world." As much as he hated the world, Ha Eung neatly put the fifteen knives he owned on the counter before slamming his door. "I hate _ge-ge_." Leon glared at him, leaving his firecrackers behind.

The only person left sighed at him. "Seriously?" "What now, you hate me too?" Ha Yeon smiled at her brother. "Nope, you don't hate me for being a drunk party girl all the time. So I don't hate you for being a strict, boring older brother." She sighed-"The things I do for love"-and swept past.

The long count to the exam had begun.

 _So, here are the names and ages, along with the countries!_

 _Wang Yao(China), 30_

 _Kiku(Japan), 18_

 _Mei (Taiwan), 17_

 _Lee Ha Eung(North Korea), 17_

 _Lee Ha Yeon(South Korea), 17_

 _Leon(Hong Kong)_ , 16

 _The only people related to Yao are Leon and Mei, who are his cousins. Since Leon is also related to Arthur(England) Yao is protective of him. Ha Eung(Northie) is my OC for North, and Ha Yeon(Southie) is my name for Fem!South. The twins were the children of Yao's dead bosses, and were brought into the family after age 3, when their parents were killed. Kiku was adopted as Yao's brother when he was a baby and Yao a teenager. I like to think of the family as a bickering mess, but protective of each other._

 _Long List of Words_

 _baka-Japanese for idiot._

 _oppa-Korean for older brother, used by girls_

 _nisan-respective, Japanese form for older brother._

 _anime-Japanese for cartoons, what we all love_

 _otaku-people who love said cartoons. Apparently, dear Kiku seems to like Black Butler._

 _Kuroshintoji- One of the great anime that I love and yet, cannot own. It features a adorable count-Ciel Phantomhive, and his devilishly handsome butler Sebastian Michaellis._


	3. In Which Alfred Has A Shitty Evening

**Author's note:** Mentions of sexual behavior, some slang included. Couples include FrUk, Kimchiburger.

 _Names, ages, jobs of countries_

 _Alfred F. Jones/17/America/Student_

 _Arthur Kirkland/30/England/Lawyer_

 _Matthew W. Jones/17/Canada/Student_

 _Ha-Yeon Lee/17/South Korea/Student_

 _Yao Wang/30/China/CEO of Asia Corp._

 _Francis Bonnefoy/30/France/Model_

Alfred F. Jones was bored.

His cousin Arthur was an eyesore, practically making out on the couch with his boyfriend.

His twin Matthew was doing his homework like the goody-two-shoes he was.

He stared into his mirror while eating his Big Mac. ' _Hi, Alfred. You're even good looking today.'_ There was a beeping sound from his iPhone. As he checked, he groaned.

 _Sorry. Can't go to Francis's party. Oppa wants me to study._

 _-Yeon-_

He knew what Ha Yeon's older brother, _the great CEO Wang Yao_ thought of him. Yao probably hated him. He had seen the disgusted look on the man's face whenever he delivered a swaying, too-high Yeon back home. Sure, the dude was polite, but he disliked Alfred.

 _Don't get too mad. He's worried, and exams are coming up._

 _-Yeon-_

She was _seriously_ siding for her boring dictator of a brother? _Wow._

 _Exams are a month away, kid._

He typed back. The answer was quick.

 _Not my idea. All of us are grounded, and U aren't supposed to come._

If he had disliked Yao, he now loathed the guy.

 _What is he, some dictator?_

He could imagine Yao's horrified face if he saw this.

 _Guess so, but I love the guy._

Alfred didn't like the idea of his best friend being stuck in a stupid house. He disliked thinking about her doing nothing but studying. He hated the idea of her loving Yao, even if it was sisterly.

 _I, as the hero, am going to rescue you._

Her reply was a bit late.

 _Whatever._

He went into Matthew's room. Matthew was obediently doing his work, and he stared up at Alfred. They were different, Matthew shy, quiet, studying while he was raucous, outgoing, and a jock. "Hey, Matt, can you call Yao?" "What for?" Matthew was in good terms with the oldest member of the Asian family. It was because of the fact that he was a diligent student, and also because he was polite. "Can you ask the guy if Yeon can come over and study with you?" Matt's mouth fell open. "M..Me? Invite Ha Yeon?" "Yes, you. Mr. Goody Two Shoes. Yao won't let her come if not for you. Now, please be a hero and call him, so that Yeon can come over."

Matthew gulped. "What is it? Dude, you're acting strange." "Um, okay." Matthew pressed Yao's number and waited while Chinese music blared.

" _Ni hao?"_

"Hi, Mr. Wang! It's...Um...Me, Matthew!" Yao _chuckled_ , something he never did to Alfred. "Ah, Matthew. What is it? Career advice?" "Um...Could I invite Ha Yeon to study with me?" "Yeon?" Yao sounded puzzled. "Yes! Uh..Exams are a month up and since she's my friend and since we're partners for biology...I thought about it."

'Good work, Matt.' Alfred smiled as he heard Matthew making up the perfect excuse. Now would Yao believe him? "Well, my sister is grounded..." Yao spoke thoughtfully. "But she could come to your house. As much as I dislike the _British idiot_ , and as much as I'm not fond of your brother, Yeon needs to study." Somewhere from the background, he could hear Ha Yeon yelling, "I _do not_ need to study! Seriously!" Yao yelled something in Korean and it was instantly quiet. "Okay, I'll send Ha Yeon over." "Yessss!" Alfred punched his fist in the air. "Matthew?" Yao sounded suspicious. "Um..That was the TV." "Not Alfred?" "Yes." His brother glared at him. "Good. He's not a good influence for my sister." Alfred was feeling murderous. "Anyway, she'll come after ten minutes. Bye." "Good day, sir." Yao cut off.

" _Sir?_ " Alfred shook his head. "Bro. What's with the sirs?" "It helps." Matthew smiled at him. "Well, you had better go downstairs." "Why?" "Do you want Yeon to see our cousin making out on the couch?" Alfred left, feeling the need to unglue his cousin and his boyfriend. Sure enough, there they were. _Steamy._ "Oh, mon dieu!" Francis Bonnefoy was too engrossed with Arthur to notice Alfred coming at him.

 _Thwack._ "What the hell was _tha_ _t_?" Arthur Kirkland, his cousin and very popular lawyer, glared at him. "If you're thinking about making out, go to Francis's house." Alfred smirked. "Well, _pourquoi_?" Francis Bonnefoy, smiled lazily up at him. "Yeon's coming over." _"Pourquoi?"_ "Because she's studying with Matt." Arthur fell off Francis at the mention of that. "Liar." "She is, so move it." Arthur scoffed as he stood. "As if." Francis laughed. "Well, _mon ami_ , _Mademoiselle_ Ha Yeon didn't seem like a scholar." "Whatever." Alfred was busy moving around the living room, cleaning moldy socks, underwear, law books, everything he got his hands on.

The bell rang, and Alfred cursed. There were still books littered on the floor, and Arthur had still not moved. Francis had stood up, but he was not wearing a shirt. "Wear. Your. Bloody. Shirt." Alfred snapped as Matthew ran to get the door.

"Hey, Matt. _Oppa_ said something about studying." Ha Yeon stood at the door, smiling and carrying her bag in one hand, food in the other. "Fooood!" Alfred cursed as Francis, still shirtless ran to the food. "Hi, _Monsieur_ Bonnefoy!" His best friend smiled, pretending not to notice at all that the model was _naked_. "So she _is_ here to study." Arthur nodded at her. "What else would I be doing?" "You could be bailing with Jones, my _dear_ cousin."

Matthew gave Alfred a look. "What?" "You _ordered_ me to call her." "Oh." Ha Yeon glared at him. " _Ya_." She did not look happy. "Uh, making Matthew call you was the best excuse to get you out of the house?" "And _whae_?" The last time she had been mixing Korean with English, she had _taekwondoed_ Honda Kiku, her older brother down the school hall-leaving his nose bleeding. "To..To play computer games!" She looked disgusted. "And _how_ am I supposed to explain to _oppa_ that I didn't study for examinations _at all_ because _you_ made Matt call me to study-for what? _Video games?_ "

"You could always finish faster." She sighed. " _Aigo_ , I don't understand why I'm still hanging out with you, idiot." Francis chortled. "Ah, _amour_." "Shut up, frog." Arthur ellbowed his boyfriend. "And kid, what's with the food?" " _Oppa_ thought it would be polite." Now she had a smile on her face. "Well, thank your _frère_ for _moi_! I cannot put up with this man's food-or _whatever soot that he calls food._ " Francis laughed out loud, taking the food bag from her as Ha Yeon entered the house. "My food is tasty enough, you ungrateful git!" Arthur barked at him. "Colorful language. I can see why _oppa_ was worried about Leon's well being." Ha Yeon gently put down her bulging backpack, and opened it, revealing textbooks,notepaper, and a pencilcase. "You aren't going to study, are you?" She did not answer him. "Hey, Matt, bring your Algebra. I need to ask you something." Alfred gave his twin his best killer stare. He was ignored, point blank. His own plan had backfired.

Alfred lay on the couch. 9:30pm. _Fucking_ 9:30pm! The people in the living room were still studying. What were they, some sort of scholars? He glared at Matthew's back. So far, he had tried to engage the Korean in speech, only to be hit by an eraser, kicked by a foot, slapped by a hand, and so on. He was lonely. He had not expected this peace and quiet. "How much longer?" There was no answer. _Fuck them._ He stood, staring at the girl and the boy, feeling misery. "Hello, people! _Annyeong_! How much longer?" Still no answer. He stormed upstairs, only to bump into his cousin.

"What?" Arthur smirked. "Laddie, if you want the girl to notice you, you could study with her." "That's nonsense!" Alfred glared at the law school student. " Yao thinks highly of people who study. How different can his sister be?" Arthur reasoned with his cousin. For God's sake, the boy was thick. He had believed the kid was smart-well, he seemed to be pretty dumb now. Alfred hit the wall in frustration. "But I don't want to study!" "We must all make our sacrifices when it comes to love." "Shu..Shut up! I don't like _like_ her!" Alfred snapped, but he picked up the English book that he had abandoned the previous day, heading downstairs. "Oh, petit Alfred has a crush on Coréenne!" Francis appeared next to Arthur, sighing. "Do you think she knows?" "I doubt it. Your frère is in...in...the _ami_ zone, possibly." Francis kissed his boyfriend on the cheek, then stared at the floor. "Arthur, _mon amour_ , where is the _livre_ I left on the floor?" "That? Alfred took the blasted book downstairs to study, that is to woo the girl." Arthur shrugged, only to see the horrified expression on Francis's face. "We must take the _livre_ back, now!" "Why?" " _Parce que_ there is something personal of mine in there! I..I thought it was yours!" Arthur looked at his lover. "What in the name of god did you put there?" "Um.." There was a scream from downstairs.

" _Ya, you...you...byuntai!_ Go away!" Then a loud noise, a grunt, and Alfred ran towards the staircase. He was clutching his English book, as another book flew into the air. It was red covered, and there was a picture of two people, doing something _inappropriate._ "Yeon, Yeon! Come on, that's not mine!" His cousin looked horrified. "Then whose _rubbish_ is that?" Ha Yeon's face was turning into a shade of fine red, as Matthew strained to stop her from killing his brother. "Um, _ma cherie_ , it belongs to _moi._ " There was an uncomfortable silence, filled with French laughter. " _Honhonhon..._ "

It was 10 when Ha Yeon stood to leave. Alfred came from his room upstairs, "I'll walk you home." "No need." She brushed him aside. "Well, it's unsafe." He ignored her, opening the door. As they left, the door slammed. "I believe it's safer to leave. Alfred's not in a good mood." Matthew started to pack a small bag. "That bloody frog..." Arthur grabbed his car keys. "Frog! We're going to your house." "Why?" "Do you want Alfred to come back and disfigure your pretty face for making Ha Yeon throw a book at him?" "Of course not!" And they were gone, leaving poor Matthew alone. "Why am I always stuck here?" No one answered him.

"Look, I told you that that book wasn't mine!" Ha Yeon just ignored him. "Hey, what's wrong with you?" "What?" "You ignore me for the entire evening. You didn't even talk to me, or play computer games with me. Did I do something?" He had put up with her behavior the whole afternoon. He wanted an explanation, as nobody crossed the hero. She didn't say anything, just lowered her head. Soon, he could hear muffled noises. "Look, I..I'm sorry..Don't cry!" Was she crying? He didn't want his bestie to cry! Was that...laughing? Ha Yeon was laughing, throwing back her head. "Ha ha ha, th...that was super funny! I mean, y..your reaction..." "What? What about my reaction, _scholar_?" He couldn't understand her at all. "Well, one of Kiku's books said that ignoring people could bring out their true selves or something. And I was curious about how..." "How I would react." His head was clear now. "So, all of this was a joke." He did not know what to feel. "No, no no!" She looked upset now. "I..I didn't mean to make you angry! I was just curious, and.." "And?" "And..." She seemed embarrassed. "It turned out you cared a lot about me?" "Of course, idiot." He couldn't help but feel a little resentful. How _could_ she make fun of him? "I'm really sorry!" "I accept your apology about your shitty behavior, _badass._ " She squealed with indignation, "I am _not_ a badass, you jerk!" Their disasterous evening seemed to be forgotten as the duo walked towards the Asian estate. The door opened, and Yao glared at him. "What are you doing here?" "It's late, so I walked her home." Yao nodded, and turned to his sister. "You're still not allowed to go to the Bonnefoy party." "I know!" Ha Yeon waved at him as her brother closed the door, and as the door closed, mouthed _idiot_. Alfred sighed. He was an idiot, for letting that badass steal his stupid heart.

 ** _A lot of fun! Poor Alfred...though...Their relationship is well, 'fighting tooth and nail with words', and he always crumbles. Poor guy!_**

 _mon dieu-'my god' in French_

 _pourquoi-'why' in French_

 _mademoiselle-'miss' in French_

 _monsieur-'mister' in French_

 _oppa-'older brother' in Korean_

 _aigo-'a sign of resignation' in Korean_

 _ya-'you' in Korean_

 _whae-'why' in Korean_

 _taekwondo-Korean traditional martial arts_

 _amour-'love' in French_

 _frère-'brother' in French_

 _moi-'me' in French_

 _annyeong-'hello' in Korean_

 _ami-'friend' in French_

 _livre-'book' in French_

 _parce que-'because' in French_


	4. In Which a Psychopath Thaws a Little

**Author's note: Mentions of past violence, some violent and colorful language. Minimal fighting included. WARNING. Angst included.**

 **Hi! I do not have any knowledge of how many guys actually read this thing or like it or whatever...Tragic, really...I was planning of doing a Yao chapter where Ivan stalks him, and I was _going_ to add Ha Eung in there somehow..But nope...The Yao chapter kinda went berserk and I gave up!!! _That_ is why you wonderful people are gonna read the miserable school life of Ha Eung Lee ;psychopath, a.k.a. North Korea. Don't think about me too badly...This is my first fanfic in anything... Any ideas for whom to write on our next chapter???**

 **1.Yao goes to work and meets his stalker (cough)client, Ivan Bradinski. He barely escapes with his life. His wonderful siblings help him get rid of his crazy stalker.**

 **2.Kiku _tries_ to enjoy the only comic book left of his Kuroshintoji.(Go to Chapter Two if you forgot why the hell he has only one comic left.)**

 **3\. Mei volunteers to take care of Leon, who's sick-in order to watch TV while the others are out. Mei and Leon engages in a battle for the remote.(Chapter two tells you why they're so desperate for one TV show.)**

 **4.Leon experiments with the Prada leather he cut out of his sister's boot. It's too bad that she's going for payback-using Leon's own firecrackers!**

 **5\. You guys could give me the wonderful ideas you have, such as GreeceJapan or...yeah...stuff like that...I'm already opting for Kimchiburger so hands off!**

 **So if any of you are reading this horrible work of junk, could you add what you want to read???**

 **Also, is there anyone interested in Kimchibun here? I'm preparing to write a VERY. LONG. KIMCHIBUN. That is-if you guys need it! So good day to you wonderful people!**

 ** _Ha Eung Lee/17/North Korea/Student_**

 ** _Ha Yeon Lee/17/South Korea/Student_**

 ** _Kiku Honda/18/Japan/Student_**

 ** _Wang Yao/30/China/CEO_**

 ** _Leon/16/Hong Kong/Student_**

 ** _Mei/17/Taiwan/Student_**

 ** _Alfred F. Jones/17/America/Student_**

 ** _Gilbert_** ** _/17/Prussia/Student_**

Ha Eung sighed into outer space. He was chewing his food _very slowly_ for goodness knows what. Kiku Honda, his adopted brother was eating his _dim-sum_ extra cautiously while his adopted sister Mei ladled her soy bean soup. "Eat up, children! You have a long day ahead of you!" His older brother Yao shouted at them, oblivious to the gloomy look Leon gave him.

There was a shriek, and Ha Yeon came running down the stairs. She only had one of her stilettos on, and she was holding the other in her hand. " _Oppa_ , that little brat..." "What is it?" His brother sighed. "That jerk Leon! Look what he did to my Prada! I'm going to kill him!" Sure enough, there was a hole, made by a scissor on the shoe. "I used it for an experiment." Leon acted as if it was natural to cut expensive leather. "You and your stupid experiments!" Ha Yeon glared at her brother. "I'll buy you another pair. And Yeon, don't buy expensive shoes like that in the future with my money." Yao took the shoe from her, and gave her a look. "I _saved my allowance for that shoe!"_ Uh-Oh. Yao face-palmed. "Oh..." He had not expected that. "Now what am I supposed to do?" "Wear your other heels, of course." "I wore that on Tuesday, I am not wearing Jimmy Choos today!" "Then you'll wear sneakers like your brother, you brat." Huffing, his twin stormed upstairs. "She is the most ungrateful little twat I have ever raised!" Yao shouted. So, his older brother was possibly in a bad mood. Ha Eung ignored him. It would wear off, and Yao would marry his stalker Ivan Braginsky than admit that _Lee Ha Yeon was his favorite_.

Sure enough his mood wore off, and Yao waved to Ha Eung as he left for school. The classroom was noisy when he got there. Paper flew from one seat to the next, and the girls were conversing in loud voices. When he opened the door, there was a moment of silence. Ha Eung threw his bag down on his desk, and put his head on his desk as he sat. He needed a long rest. The room started to buzz again. He was used to it-them treating him like garbage.

The door opened again, and there was the usual "Hey, kiddos!". Alfred F. Jones had entered the room. "Hey, Al!" Shouted one of the Italian brothers. "Where's your bestie?" The German boy, Gilbert asked over the ruckus. "Out. Cheer Practice. She's the captain, what more did you expect?" Of course, his _glorified twin sister_. Alfred tossed his bag somewhere, and " _Shit._ " The bag had hit him on the back.

There was a silence. "Oh, sorry. Lee, I didn't mean to..." Ha Eung stood, and picked the bag up. "How much is this?" It had been an unexpected question. "Um, this? Only from Nike. But I had to save a lot of money." Alfred added, answering quite truthfully. He too had heard of the _stupid_ bag. His sister had one as well, and Yao had told them it was the equivalent of his month's allowance. He smiled at Alfred-he never smiled-and gracefully threw the bag, not to Alfred's expectant arms, but to the garbage can. There was a _thump_.

"You...You...You little...Why, you bloody.."Alfred was fuming, as he shouted. The veins in his neck were bulging. Of course, the jerk was upset. It was common sense and fact that _nobody_ crossed Alfred F. Jones. Nobody was crazy enough. Excluding Wang Yao, who was a _very powerful man_ , Matthew Jones, his brother, Ha Yeon Lee, who was known throughout the school as his _friend_. That was it. Fin. Final. No more. Well, he was crazy enough to be hated by everyone. Why couldn't he? Ha Eung smirked and sat, only to be grabbed by the collar by the fuming Jones.

" _Apologize."_ He took the taller boy's hand from his collar. He didn't want to be choked. "For what? It was a hideous bag, and it ruined my mental well-being." The blond looked infuriated. "I don't give a _damn_ about your mental being, you asshole! That bag was worth two of you!" "I don't think my sister would like to hear that." He rebutted. "Why in hell's name does your sister come out at this point?" Alfred's grip was slowly loosening, perhaps at the mention of his _precious_ friend. "Because twins are practically considered same. So, you just as well as said your stupid bag equals me and Ha Yeon together in value." He sneered at the idiot, who seemed to get it now. "I didn't mean it like that, punk! _What_ is wrong with you, assaulting my bag, picking a fight? I should have dealt with you earlier!" Jones looked ready to kill. "Go ahead. I don't give a damn."

There was muttering in the classroom, and Gilbert shook Alfred's shoulder. "Alfred, leave him be. You'll get into trouble." "I don't care! He's infuriating!" "Look, it's not cool." Another of the boy's precious friends had stood. "Well, Jones, too bad. I believe they think you're too weak to handle me one on one or something." There was a sound, and his face seemed to burn. There was also a scream.

"What the hell.. _Ya_ , Alfred, what are you doing?" Ha Yeon's face was red. She looked horrified, as she tugged on Alfred's sleeve. "He started it, just like always!" The boy was too much of a prick to listen to her. "Perhaps, but _he_ didn't assault you!" His twin stood between him and Jones, covering him from view. "At least I _apologized_ for hitting him with my bag! And it wasn't on purpose! He just threw my bag in the trash!" Ha Yeon glared at her twin. "You don't pick fights like that, _mungchungaa_! You already have a ton of enemies!" "Yes, you jerk! No wonder you're a psycho!"

His sister's voice was deadly calm. " _What did you say to me?"_ "Yeon, he's impossible! You know that, he's crazy! He's never going to act like a civilized human being!" There was a pause, and his sister dropped her bag with a _plunk_ next to his chair. "Hey, you said you..." The taller boy complained. "This jerk is a psycho. He never acts like a normal person, he smiles when he's angry, he has zero understanding for me, and I'm _very_ sure that if I died, he's going to dance in my funeral. But even if he's a _fucking_ psycho, a jerk, an asshole, he's my _jerk of a brother_ and _you_ have zero rights to call him _fucking names_." And with that she sat next to him, and turned.

"I don't care if you cut off all of the leather from my shoes like Leon. I don't care if you glare at me and yell about me being stupid like _oppa_. I don't mind if you badmouth me to your friends-that is, if you still have any-like Mei. I will not yell at you if you verbally abuse me or hit me like Kiku used to do, when he was a monster. But I will _kill_ you if you continue to act like this. I know you have a brain, even if it's peasized, so I guess you understand what I mean. _Gureonikka_ , _please_ act like you still have a heart, and you have feelings. Even if you say they do not exist, I know they do." That was it. The girl-his twin-sat there until the bell rang and the teacher came in. She didn't move back to her chair after first period, second period and so on. She was possibly worried that he could get lynched. He didn't understand her, he really didn't. He knew that if she was in his situation, he would have ignored her.

He didn't get all of this feeling nonsense at all. A long time ago, before _hyung_ became too immersed with work, before Kiku had gotten _weird_ , before Ha Yeon had made a friend in the stupid Westerners, he knew he had known how to feel. He just gave it up, because they were a hinder and a bother. And now his idiot of a sister was acting like they mattered. It was disturbing.

School was over. He couldn't leave now. His wonderful sister had instructed that he stay, that she was going to yell at some of the other cheerleaders and leave. He could hear her just now, yelling at some poor girl named Natalia to _smile for God's sake, it won't kill you._ "You don't deserve it." It was a low voice. Alfred stood there, swinging his car keys, and staring at the cheer team.

" _What_ do I not deserve?" He retorted. "Anything. Your tyrant of a brother worried more about you than Yeon when..when you guys had that blowup arguement, you get good grades _but_ you have that evil mind. It's worse to be smart and evil, and you're a...a...Never mind." The cheer team seemed to be almost over. "I'm a psycho. Yes, I don't deserve anything." He answered almost calmly. "So what?" "It's infuriating that she will not _fucking_ give up on you!" That was something new. "When she was just one of the outsiders, it was natural that she cared for you. At least you were normal. And you were her brother. Now? She's _high society_ and she still acts like you're worth it! And you did all of that to her. All of the fighting, yelling, she never started it." He heard all of Alfred's accuses and at the same time, heard none. "If I were her, I'd sever ties with you." The boy snapped. Ha Eung stared at the lone figure coming towards him.

' _Ha Eung, look! I caught a butterfly!'_

 _The five year old's laughter._

 _'I can't believe we're going to school!'_

 _The eight year old's excitement._

 _'Oppa seems tired. Why is he so tired? Did he get into trouble or something?"_

 _The ten year old's worries._

 _'Kiku oppa's changing, he's scary. I don't want to be with him alone.'_

 _The twelve year old's fear._

 _'Stop it, stop hitting us! What did we ever do to you?'_

 _The fourteen year old's anger and resentment._

 _Then the sixteen year old's tears. The blood after their fights, screaming matches, vases smashing, people yelling, Alfred and Yao tearing them apart, the judging looks._

 _'Shame on them, fighting their own kin.'_

 _'The boy started it. That one always starts it.'_

 _'I wonder if he's even sane.'_

 _Then the rooms splitting. From the closest to the farthest. His next to Kiku-hyung's, hers next to Yao-hyung's. The peace attempts, the small fights that stop them, quiet dinners, worried people. Yao-hyung stops trying. He's worried, but he's tired. He'd rather care for his sister, the noisy one, the one who showers him with affection than the brother who greets him in silence. The edging away is almost apparent. If Yao-hyung had to choose between him and her, he'd choose her, now._

 _The only person who hasn't given up on him is surprisingly, the sister he hates, envies. The only person left that can make him feel anything._

"Cheer practice is over!" She announces from afar. He nods, and starts to walk away. "Hey!" She sounds indignant. "Where the heck are you going?" He knows he doesn't belong in her world, filled with laughter and music. He is the psychopath of the family, the lone wolf. He would rather go home and watch _Hannibal._ The main character is his favorite, and he's looking forward to it. But then, he remembers that Yao banned TV from the house. It is that precise moment that he hears a cry. The idiot, running around in her heels, has fallen down over a pebble. Alfred Jones is running toward her, but there is no need.

" _Saedaegaree._ " He glares at his twin sprawled on the ground, and motions for her to lean on his back. "What?" "It's not everyday that I act like a human being. Hop on while I'm acting like one." " _Ya..._ " He doesn't listen to her, as he picks her up on his back. Alfred gives him a look. "What." The other boy takes Ha Yeon's bag and goes on ahead. They are nearly home when she speaks. "This is the _worst piggyback ride_ ever." "Get off." She hits him on the shoulder. "You're heavy." He comments, receiving another blow. "Whatever." As they reach the house, the door flies open, and Kiku gapes at them. "What are _you_ staring at?" "Nothing, just that I did not expect that." He nods and motions for his sister to get off.

His sister is a crazy, party loving idiot, whose standards, when it comes to men, are pretty low. She's also annoying, loud, and too emotional. But it's better to have her around than to have her gone. And he admits to himself, that being a normal person is better-a teeny weeny bit more than being a psychopath, even if psychopaths get to wear cool stuff and saw people in half.

 _oppa-Korean word for 'older brother'_

 _mungchungaa-Korean word for 'fool'_

 _gureonikka-Korean word for 'so'_

 _I tried to add the bit of the countries' real relationships...Seems like I messed up...Haha..._

 _1.Ha Eung picking fights with Alfred_

 _Actually, North Korea is picking fights with everyone and everything with his stupid missiles, but they're always talking about shooting missiles at the White House, and they mostly talk about America when they talk about attacking._

 _2.Ha Yeon siding...a bit...with Ha Eung..._

 _South Korea is the country that tries to reconcile. It's too bad that North is always refusing..._

 _3\. Past mentions of Kiku hitting or abusing the twins_

 _This is a piece of dark history for Koreans. Some of the Koreans have never forgiven the Japanese for their 35 year oppression and colonization of Korea. During that time, millions of people were killed for various reasons, they were not allowed to speak or write Korean, and many of Korea's resources and people were taken._

 _4\. Ha Eung disliking the fact that Alfred and Ha Yeon are close_

 _North Korea dislikes the fact that THAAD is in Korea. They also dislike America and Korea having joint military exercises. In fact, they dislike the fact that America and SK get along._


	5. In Which What Goes Around Comes Around

Author's Note: **Hello, wonderful people! This time I, thanks to the help** **of nonsense fics, who I truly admire, have _finally_ decided to write about... (drumroll) LEON!!!!**

 **Audience: What????(Bored)**

 **Author: Well, out of the four ideas I had for now, I decided to write about Leon, and how he ruins other people's stuff and how he...um..What goes around comes around!!!!**

 **Audience:(throws food)** **LEAVE, author!**

 **Author: Whatever. But you guys can still choose between the new ideas.**

 **1.Kiku and his Manga**

 **2\. Yao and his Stalker**

 **3\. Mei and the War of the Remote Control**

 **4\. Ha Yeon and her Sleepover**

 **5\. All of the Asians and their movie night**

 **6\. The POV of one of their friends**

 **Anyway I hope you enjoy this!!!**

 **Names/jobs/Ages of Countries**

 ** _Leon/16/Hong Kong/Student_**

 ** _Yao/30/China/CEO_**

 ** _Lee Ha Eung/17/North Korea/Student_**

 ** _Mei/17/Taiwan/Student_**

 ** _Kiku Honda/18/Japan/Student_**

 ** _Lee Ha Yeon/17/South Korea/Student_**

 ** _Emil/16/Iceland/Student_**

 ** _Alfred F. Jones/17/America/Student_**

 ** _Matthew Jones/17/Canada/Student_**

Leon was enjoying his peace and quiet as he began his scientific research. 'Which food is more mouthwatering between ramen and udon?' "LEON!!!!" Possibly his imagination. "LEON!!!!" Again. This time it was definitely real, a male voice. A _deeper_ male voice than expected, not Kiku's nor Ha Eung's. "Yes, _ge-ge_?" Yao glared at him, livid. "What did you do to my computer?" "I'm surprised you just found out." Leon shrugged. For a _very important computer_ , it had been very easy to hack. "Leon Wang, this is important! You _do not_ ruin other people's property out of curiosity!" Yao looked frustrated. "Then _you_ shouldn't have made it so easy to hack." Yao growled under his breath about _some British idiot_ and _learning from his elders about no manners_ , power-walking away.

It was only three minutes later when Ha Eung appeared. "You little brat!" The older boy had him by the neck, shaking him. "W..What." "How _dare_ you ruin my knife collection!" He had found one of the confiscated knives from Yao's drawer. He had not meant to ruin it, but the knife Ha Eung was waving at him was a rusty red. "It's just a bloody knife, for God's sake!" He couldn't understand why the quiet boy was yelling at him, until the boy threw a piece of newspaper at him. " _You have no respect, no dignity, which makes you a thief."_ As he read the paper, Leon's eyes widened. _Famous Sword Bought by Presidents Kim All Yeong and Lee Joo Mong of Asia Corp: Intended for their Son._ "Hey, I'm sorry, I had no idea.." "That was the last bit of my parents that I had left, you _babo_! I hope you go to _Giok_!" The older boy _hurled_ Leon into his bed, and left, slamming the door.

No sooner than five minutes had passed when Mei's screaming was heard down the hallway, along with shouting from Kiku. "I'll kill him! _Look_ at what he did to my CDs! He scratched them with nails, and they were the limited edition!" Mei was on the verge of tears. "Well, at least your band posters aren't ruined." Kiku was snapping. "What now?" It was his older sister, the fashionista. "That jerk messed up my Kuro Sensei figurine! He cut the plastic, and who knows what he did to Miku! They're never going to be the same!" Kiku was storming to Leon's room, he could feel it. _Maybe_ he had overdone it. "Calm down, he's a kid." There was a snort. "And I thought your twin was insane. _Some_ kid." Then there was a lot of murmuring and hushed voices. After a while, the hall was quiet. Leon peeped out. They had all left. He sighed. Not one of them understood the beauty of finding out the new. They were all too absorbed with junk like fashion, bands, anime, weaponry.

The rest of the family were gathered in Yao's room. "Unspeakable behavior!" Mei sobbed, holding her CDs. "Outrageous!" Kiku _shouted_ , displaying his figurines, all damaged in scientific matters. " _Out of his mind!"_ Ha Eung snarled, throwing his knife on the desk where Yao sat, hands clasped together. "We must do _something_ , he's ruining our lives." Kiku spoke. "But do what? He won't listen, we can't hit him, he's a boy." "You mean, a smart, mad scientist, not a boy." Ha Eung corrected Yao. Yao sighed. "What should we do?" "Send him to boot camp, like in reality TV!" Argued Mei. "I have a _wonderful_ idea." It was Ha Yeon. "What is it?" "He's been wrecking our stuff." "We know that." "So, _we_ can ruin _his_ stuff for once." There was a long silence. "I'm in." Mei said, determined. "Of course." Kiku smiled, an evil glint in his eyes. "That was the best idea you had in a week, _dongsaeng._ " Ha Eung stood. "How about _oppa?_ " "I...this is a little too cruel, don't you think?" The teens began to shout. "He deserves it!" "How can you _still_ defend him?" "He _killed_ my CD!" "He _surli_ _ed_ my inheritance!"

"What are you guys talking about?" Leon stood there, hands on hips. "We were talking about..." Yao was thinking of an excuse. "Non _e of your business._ " The Korean girl gave him a look. "Well, if it's none of my business, can I sleep over at Emil's? He invited me for a sleepover." "Sure!" Ha Eung _grinned_. "What's wrong with you?" "Nothing." Kiku said, silently thanking the gods that they would have enough time to wreck Leon's belongings. The siblings urged their youngest to leave, and Leon waved to them as he left with his pajamas and toothbrush. "He's gooonneee!" Ha Yeon sang as she picked up a glue gun, a knife and more. "I think we're being too cruel on our..." Yao cut off. They could all see his precious Hello Kitty, which had clearly been cut in the stomach, and had been resurrected by a needle and a thread. "I'm in." The siblings grinned at each other. Yao was the gentlest, the fairest. But you _never_ crossed him, _never._ Leon was going to have it, big time.

It was an overall fine day, and Matthew Jones found himself alone. Peace and quiet. Good. There was a _bang._ Alfred stood there, grinning like crazy. "Hey, bro, you don't have any Katy Perry, right?" "What?" "Yeon called me to borrow it, if you had it." "Why would she need it?" But Matthew handed his brother the CD anyway. The _belle coréenne_ was someone he couldn't exactly say no to, with her sweet smile, deep chocolate eyes... _What?_ Matthew chided himself. _She's your brother's best friend, you can't just go lusting around, you're going to make things awkward.._ Alfred's voice cut through his thoughts. "Thanks, she's gonna love it!" Matthew managed a weak smile.

Leon waved goodbye to Emil as he got off his bike. Overall, his sleepover had been _fantastic_. He had taken his, no- Ha Yeon's leather and fashioned a knife holder. Perhaps Ha Eung would forgive him... _Perhaps._ The leather he still had left was going to be used for a scientific experiment-mainly 'Is Cowhide stronger than Fox fur or Mink?' He couldn't wait to go to his room, he was going to have a ton of fun-"I'm home!" He shouted, throwing open the door. "You're back." Ha Eung greeted him at the door. "Y..Yes!" Leon escaped to his room. The older boy was actually intimidating, or was it his imagination? Possibly. He closed the door and threw himself on his bed..."Ahhhh!"

Leon's screams echoed throughout the house. Downstairs, Ha Yeon stared at the ceiling. "Did you _have_ to put his nails in his bed?" "Revenge. How sweet." Ha Eung flipped through a knife catalog. "How _dare_ you touch my nails!" Leon came charging downstairs, pulling nails out of his shirt. "Whoops, sorry. We were just experimenting..." Ha Eung _smiled_ at the boy. "What kind of bloody experiment is that? These nails were from my nails-screwdrivers-hammers collection!" The younger boy yelled. "Well, it was called _How Many of his own Collections could make the Mad Scientist Scream._ " Leon ignored him. "What's this noise?" Yao came striding in. "They touched my nail collection!" "Well, you _always_ wreck our stuff." Leon couldn't ignore that.

" _Ge-ge,_ can I have a tea-bag of Earl Grey?" "Of course." _Why_ was Yao smiling like a Cheshire Cat? As Leon put the teabag in the water, he grimaced. There was the usual green of the tealeaves and the stems-" _Who the Hell_ put _sawdust_ in my teabags!"-Yao gave him a smile. "Well, little brother, I too learned how fun experiments could be when I saw the twins planning. So, I decided to experiment as well, in _How Unnoticable Sawdust is With Tealeaves_. And since you are the only member of the family who drinks Earl Grey-" Leon _glared_ at his brother. "That was my favorite tea!" "So? You can always _buy_ new stuff!" He was echoing Leon's words. Leon peered into the rest of the tea bags. _All_ of them. Filled to the brim with sawdust. Leon left with a huff. _Fine._ The laughter of the twins and his cousin followed him to his room.

Leon pulled out his liquid collection. There was the toxic chemicals, and there was the... where was his beakers? Where was his shale? And _why in the world_ were his pipettes missing? He could hear singing and laughter. Leon was a scientist and scientists investigated. The sounds came from Kiku's room. "And now, the superb marksman, Kiku Honda strikes again!" Leon opened the door. A terrible sight greeted his eyes. There were his family gathered together. Kiku stood at the middle, blindfolded. He was holding Leon's pipettes in his hand, with _needles_ (?) shoved inside them. And there, arranged in bowling form, were his beakers. "Go, Kiku, go!" Shouted Mei. "Nooooo!" Leon screamed. But too late. Kiku's hand threw the tiny instruments with full force, and Leon could only watch as his beakers smashed.

The youngest member of the family returned to his room. It was all right, he still had his books on science, he would read that National Geography Yao _ge-ge_ had bought him-he hadn't even started- _where was that book?_ There was a scream downstairs. "I bought the newest edition!" That was Mei. "Well, congrats." Kiku was laughing. "I can't believe there were actually people who wanted to buy that book!" Leon had a bad feeling about that book. "What book?" He asked from upstairs. "Oh, that thing-what was it? Regional Geography? Anyways, it sold, so I bought three CDs with the profits!" "National Geography, duh." Ha Yeon corrected Mei. "How could you! You had no right..." Leon took the stairs three at a time, standing face to face with Mei. "Well, _you_ had no right to wreck my possessions." Mei answered cooly. "That was for..." "Your own selfish gain. So stop wrecking our stuff, or we will ruin yours." "I won't give up experimenting, you can't stop me!" Leon glared at them. "You still haven't got it, have you?" Ha Yeon gave him a look. The doorbell rang, and she went to get it.

"Hey, you said something about a grand finale!" It was her jock friend, Alfred. "Well, Alfred, I believe it's a good time to celebrate- the LAST, GREATEST payback to Leon!" And with that she ran toward the shed, laughing. "What are you..." There was a _bang._ Then another. Leon ran after her _-my_ _fireworks-_ he could hear music. " _Yeah, baby you're a firework, come on, let your colors burst, make them go up, up up as you shoot across the sky."_ Katy Perry. _Fireworks._ Alfred and his evil sister were laughing like crazy. His family were practically singing along to that blasted song. "I told you to quit touching other people's stuff, when will you listen, _aga_?" Ha Yeon smiled warmly at him. "That...those fireworks were for Emil's birthday!" "You can always buy new ones." Yao shrugged. "What's the big deal about it?" Kiku crossed his arms. _His precise words to them._ Leon glared at all of them. "I hate you guys! I'm leaving to Arthur's." "You know, I don't think Arthur would let you experiment _at all._ " Alfred added-he _lived_ with the man. Leon huffed and puffed, then gave them a final glare before running into the house.

 _"Boom, boom, boom,_

 _even brighter than the moon, moon, moon, it's always been inside you, you, you,_

 _now it's time to let it go, go, go."_

"Maybe we were too harsh on him." muttered Yao, as Katy Perry blared on the radio. "I don't think so." Kiku stared at the house, where Leon's light was on. "We went too easy on the punk." Ha Eung gave everyone a sinister smile. "He'll have learned his lesson." Ha Yeon gave her brother a look. "What?" "Don't even _think_ about hurting the poor kid anymore." "Hey, _you_ started it!" "Whatever!"

And so, Leon Wang, the mad scientist, learned that it was safer for his own tools and for his own good _not_ to use any more of his family's possessions.

 _ge-ge: Chinese word for 'older brother'_

 _babo: Korean word for 'idiot'_

 _Giok: Korean word for 'hell'_

 _Kuro Sensei: The famous anime about a teacher and his students of F Class. One of the anime I cannot own..._

 _Hatsune Miku: One of the vocaloids, popular in Japan (no, the whole world, not just Japan)_

 _dongsaeng: Korean word for 'younger sibling'_

 _oppa: Korean word for 'older brother', used by girls_

 _Katy Perry: One of the Great Singers that I love, adore, and Respect. Her song 'Fireworks' was in Madagascar 3, and I, do not own it._

 _belle: French word for 'beautiful'_

 _coréenne: French word for 'Korean', used on women_

 _aga: Korean word for 'baby'_

 _All Yeong was the first queen of Silla, one of the Three Kingdoms of Ancient Korea. Ju Mong was the first king of Goguryeo, one of the Three Kingdoms as well. I used their names as the parents of the twins._


	6. In Which Kiku has A Rollercoaster Day

Ha-Yeon Lee/17/South Korea/Student

Ha-Eung Lee/17/North Korea/Student

Honda Kiku/18/Japan/Student

Mei Wang/17/Taiwan/Student

Leon Wang/16/Hong Kong/Student

Yao Wang/30/China/CEO of Asia Corp.

Feliciano Vargas/18/Italy/Student

Hercules/18/Greece/Student

 **Grepan Coupling, Occasional Cursing**

"I got it from my da, da, da da da da da da da da da da da da da daddy!" The stupid alarm was bothering Kiku's peace of mind. "Please, someone go and _wake_ Ha Yeon up!" He could hear _oni-san_ shout. It was another unpeaceful saturday morning at the Asian residence, and yes, _that_ was his the awful alarm of his sister. No, he didn't have anything against Korean music, and yes, he had liked Psy songs, but the same alarm all year long? _No._ He could hear footsteps, and then, "Get up, lazybones!" Thank god, Ha Eung had decided to wake his sister up. The alarm had been turned off. Ah, _peace and_ _quiet-manga time._

There was still a week left to the exams _-drat_ \- and yes, he wasn't supposed to watch anime or read manga. But who kept these rules anyway? And besides, after Leon had _ruined_ his property Yao had returned Kiku's mangas to him, saying "I trust you." Well, his _oni-san_ shouldn't have believed in him. Kiku had decided to take his books, one after one, and Yao wouldn't notice. Even if he did, by that time exams would be over, and his _stupid_ rules would have no affect whatsoever. Kiku stretched luxuriously. Today was Saturday, he'd have the _whole day_ for reading, and he _loved_ it. There was a yell from the kitchen. "Time for breakfast!" He groaned, but left the room. He _needed_ Yao's dumplings since they were scrumptious.

Downstairs was a wreck. He could smell cooking, see books overpiled over desks, hear-" _Oppa, good morning!_ " Ha Yeon was squealing at _oni-san_ , kissing him on the cheek. His inner _otaku_ told him something called _konshinsokan_ was on. His very clear brain told him to shut up and sit. Ha Eung sat at the table reading a Korean newspaper. "North Korea's launching something." The younger boy reported. "That's the _only_ country you like." Leon remarked. After the ' _Taming Leon'_ incident, he had turned a bit sour to Ha Eung, who he was still afraid of. And just to prove his point, when Ha Eung asked him, " _What about it?"_ Leon cringed.

Mei was smiling as she pulled out her chair-she had gotten all her CDs back as well. "Breakfast is here!" Yao brought the various assortments of food, and he too sat. " _いただきました."_ Kiku lifted his chopsticks. "잘 먹겠습니다!" The twins chorused, then started shoveling their food into their mouths. "我要开动了." Yao stared at Leon as he spoke, the teen had clearly forgotten his manners as he was even eating before all of them _-without thanks._ Mei noticed and jabbed Leon in the ribs. "我要开动了." Leon spoke, and the family breakfast truly began. Ha Yeon and Mei talked during the whole breakfast about the upcoming school matches in sports. The Korean girl smiled when she talked of basketball, and Mei laughed while talking about soccer.

Kiku stared at the clock. It was 10am. 10! A! M! "Could I be excused?" Everyone stared at him. Yao put his chopsticks down and spoke quietly. "No, you may not. We are a family, and we will finish breakfast together." Kiku almost groaned. He needed time for his comic books! They were waiting for him! He glared at everyone. They were _so_ slow. "쟤 왜 저래?(What is wrong with him?)" Ha Eung was speaking Korean. _Wonderful, a language I cannot understand._ "큰오빠 몰래 만화 보려고 하나 보지.(Perhaps he's trying to read mangas behind _Oppa_ 's back.)Ha Yeon replied, and Ha Eung's lower lip curled.

Unfortunately for Kiku, Yao knew Korean. His bosses had been Korean, so it was no shock, but Yao's expression had turned from sternness to pure dislike. "Kiku." "Yes?" "Does this leaving breakfast early thing have _anything_ to do with... that 垃圾 you read?" Drat. "No, _oni-san._ " "Good." Yao had finished eating. "Are you done with your studies?" "Yes." Yao smiled at him. It was almost fatherly. "Since you are done with your studies..." _Free time! Free time!_ "You need to write calligraphy. It would be good for your mind, more calming. It would settle you down for sure." Kiku groaned inside his head. _Calligraphy! I hate calligraphy! I liked it before I was a high schooler! Seriously?_ "망했네, 망했어.(He is so totally doomed.)" Ha Eung chuckled, twirling his spoon. "시끄럽구나.(Be quiet.)" Yao gave the Korean boy a glare, and the younger boy rose. " _Hyungnim_ , since you have finished eating, may I excuse myself?" "不. Today you will write calligraphy for the morning, all of you." "정말 재밌겠네.(How fun.)" Ha Eung groaned. "다 저 인간이랑 그 망할 놈의 만화책 때문이야.(It's all because of him and his blasted comics.)" Ha Yeon muttered as she picked up her dish and stacked it.

 _Concentrate, concentrate..._ Kiku studied the sheet of paper. They were supposed to do calligraphy. Leon had ditched it, by spattering too much ink on the floor. Yao hadn't minded him leaving. "At least we know he's not doing anything he _shouldn't._ " The CEO's calligraphy was perfect as he moved the brush against his _kanji._ Ha Yeon wasn't doing anything. " なにしてる(What are you _doing_ )?" He asked no-one in particular. He knew the twins understood Japanese. At least one of them would reply. "気にしないで.(None of your business.)" Ha Eung answered. To admit the truth, the boy was good at calligraphy. "그쪽 일이나 잘해.(Do your job instead of _caring_ about what we do.)" Ha Yeon spat, and Yao gave her a look. "왜 아무것도 안 했지?(Why is there nothing on your paper?)" At his words, Ha Yeon sighed. "我在想.(I was just thinking.)" Kiku could at least understand Chinese. "Well, can't you just say you were just thinking _in English_?" Ha Yeon ignored him as she took her brush. Next to her, Mei stared as she dipped it in ink, and she drew one long line. There was power emitted in that sigle move. "Are you drawing?" "Yes." It was for the well-educated in Ancient Korea, drawing and calligraphy. 'Drawing' consisted of 'The Four Noble Ones'-the bamboo, the plum blossom, the orchid, and the chrysanthemum. Ha Yeon seemed to be drawing.."Is that an orchid?" "Yes."-An orchid. Yao beamed at her work. He himself had taken the time and the effort to teach the girl.

Kiku thought about what to write or draw. He had already used up three sheets of _kanji_ , as the most skilled of the teens. _立春大吉_ (Greeting spring, and wishing for good luck to come) was taken by none other than Yao. He didn't want his to be outshone! No, he wasn't supposed to _care_ for stupid calligraphy! There was a ripping noise. "Oh, sorry." Ha Eung had stepped on his _kanji,_ ruining it. "Watch it!" He snapped. _Fine, I admit that I like it._ " _Oni-san_?" It was Mei. "Yes?" "Could you help me with mine? You're so much better." She gave him a sweet smile. Feeling his insides melt, he took her _kanji_ , and began to write. _日新又日新(Every day is a new one.)_ was done neatly as he guided Mei's smaller hand, and when Yao looked at it, inspecting, he was sure that a smile crept up his older brother's face. "I think that's enough of calligraphy. Let's see the finished work." Mei's _日新又日新_ was hung next to Yao's _立春大吉._ Ha Eung's work was now done, and everyone gaped in awe as their psychotic brother lifted his _臥薪嘗膽_. _(Going through a lot to accomplish what you want)_ "May I hang it in my office?" Yao asked him, and Ha Eung nodded, looking bored. Ha Yeon's orchid was taken with a lot of beaming and compliments as well, and Yao looked almost expectantly at Kiku. "Well, Kiku?" He handed his _無限追球(Trying hard to get what you want)_. "Masterful." Yao smiled, and patted him on the head. Kiku felt a little warm inside.

"All right, it's 2 now." "TWO????"Kiku felt exasperation rising up inside him. _Half_ the day was gone, and he hadn't read _anything._ "내가 뭐랬어? 그 만화랑 관련있는 거라 그랬지?(What did I tell you? Told you it had something to do with comics!)" Ha Yeon stuck out her tongue at her twin. Judging by the looks on Yao's and Ha Eung's faces, she had brought up his comics _again._ "I don't know, but it had better not be that. Anyways, I thought we might eat out at that Italian restaurant your friend recommended, Kiku."

 _Today out of all days?_ Elizaveta had recommended a restaurant for his family. The Hungarian had winked as she had said _he_ would especially like it. And so he had pestered the rest of his family for ages to visit that place. It hadn't worked, _but why does it have to be now?_ He wanted to read his comics! In peace! And quiet! "Young man, are you just going to stand there? It's not like we have all day!" Everyone was waiting. _Great._ They had all made up their minds. He groaned as they got into Yao's car, and thought to himself about how he would draw a porn of his brother as punishment. He would make sure to add that _despicable_ Russian somewhere, but then _that_ seemed like too evil-"We're here!" Yao announced, and they filed outside the place.

For one thing it was classy. For another, he could see why Elizaveta had said he would like it. There were _no_ waitresses. Only _very handsome, sexy, gorgeous_ waiters. "Well, Kiku, did your friend recommend anything?" No answer. "Kiku Honda?" Yao looked up to see-"KIKU!" Mei screamed. Yes, Kiku's nose was bleeding. " _Do something_ about your nose before our sisters faint." Leon grimaced, passing him a tissue. "Welcome, sirs, ladies." Kiku's gaze passed to the waiter standing next to their table. His voice was _too_ familiar. "Feliciano?" Kiku croaked. "Oh, Kiku!" The italian gave him a hug. "Your friend works here?" Yao gave him a quizzical look. "Yes, by the looks of it." Kiku nodded, then whispered to Feliciano. "What are you _doing_ here? Who else is here?" "Oh, me, Lovino, and Herc."

Kiku's heart plummeted. The very _gorgeous_ Greek of his dreams was working. _Here._ Then he remembered that he had a nosebleed. "Do you want to see him?" "No!" Maybe his voice had been too loud. "What's wrong?" A very deep voice could be heard, and there was the sound of feet. "Hey, Herc!" Feliciano waved at the approaching waiter. _My life is over._ Kiku tried to conceal himself behind Ha Yeon. He didn't want to seem weak or pitiful. "Is _that_ Hercules?" Fortunately for him, Yao also knew of his crush. His older brother immediately began ordering as the Greek approached. "I would like one tomato spaghetti, two steaks, one Carbonara, and a Margherita pizza." "Done!" Feliciano smiled as he jotted the menu down, and he handed the bill to Hercules. "Isn't that Ha Yeon Lee?" Hercules frowned, noticing his sister listening to music and Facebook Messaging. "Yup. And there's KIKU!" Feliciano seemed to holler the word. Kiku stood, clapping his hand around the Italian's mouth. _Bad idea._ "Hi." Hercules waved as he took the piece of paper, and he left with grace to the kitchen. "Kiku?" Feliciano had that _wasn't I great?_ look on his face. "Go away." He sat, burying his face in his hands. _He saw me! And I had a nosebleed!_ "Congrats." Ha Eung was immersed in something or other.

The food arrived soon, but Kiku wasn't in a mood to eat. He toyed with his fork, twirling and twirling his spaghetti, until-"Oh, no." A single strand hit the head of the CEO of Asia Corporations. Yao looked at Kiku. "Brother, I know of your embarrassment, but you did not have to hurl your spaghetti at me." He looked amused, while Ha Yeon glared at Kiku and handed Yao a tissue. "I DID NOT HURL IT!" It was another mistake to yell in a classy restaurant, as people started staring at them. He shouldn't have lost his temper. The rest of the meal was in silence.

The other members of the family seemed to have enjoyed their lunch, as Yao stood to pay. "Did you enjoy your time?" It was Hercules, smiling at his family. "Yes." Ha Eung answered, not even glancing at the boy. Such rudeness-though not entirely unexpected. "Are you all right?" His family stared at him. "M...me?" Hercules was addressing _him._ "Yes, you. You seemed to have a nosebleed, and I was worried." _He was worried about me!_ Kiku nodded enthusiastically. "Yes, I'm fine now." "Good. I hope you come again soon." He smiled at the Greek. "Of course."

After lunch was over, Kiku had expected the clock to be pointing three. Instead it was _four._ And then Yao had wanted Kiku to go to Asia Corp with him. He had tried to look miserable, but had failed. Visiting the corporation turned out to be fun. After his visit, they had to eat _dinner._ When they returned, it was _stupid nine p.m._

 _At least I'll have three hours._ Kiku lay on his bed, picked up his manga and then... _his phone rang._ It was a text.

 _Hey._

Hercules. He had never received a text from the boy. This was his wonderful day.

 _Hi._

Perhaps his answer was a little too fast.

 _What's up?_

The Greek's answer wasn't as fast as his.

 _Nothing, just chilling around._

How was he supposed to reply?

 _Great!_

Panicking, he added a bit more.

 _I liked the food. It was awesome!!! :)_

Now Hercules was interested.

 _Well, the pasta is special. It's a secret recipe. And the steak...Unspeakable._

In one of his rare whims, Kiku typed the unspeakable.

 _I loved you in that waiter clothes._

 _What the hell had he written?_ That was something not even Alfred would type to Ha Yeon!!! This was crazy! Kiku, in his anger, threw the nearest object out of the window. It happened to be his comic. Cursing at his stupidity, he pushed himself into the covers. He wanted to commit _hara-kiri._

"Kiku? Are you okay?" Yao. "Yes, I am so very fine!" He shouted back. "Then _shut the hell up!"_ That was Ha Eung. "I did not answer _you_!" There was a beeping noise.

 _Well, thank you._

Kiku grabbed his phone. Thank god the Greek was still answering. He didn't want to seem like a...

 _You adorable little pervert._

He groaned. Now Hercules thought he was a pervert. What was he going to do?

 _You, unlike me, look cute in everything._

 _What_ was that?

Kiku stared at his phone, deciphering the text. He hated this, but there was only one person to go to.

"So, he sent you this text?" Ha Yeon gave him a look. Her phone was practically blaring from all the messages that her admirers gave her, and she scrutinized Hercules' answer. Kiku nodded. "He likes you." Kiku's heart lept. "Maybe." "That isn't helpful!" "Well, maybe you should ask someone who is a Casanova! Now _leave._ "

"That boy sent you this message?" "Yes." Why was he asking Ha Eung? "He has _zero_ taste. Perhaps he wants someone to sleep with." Kiku nearly slapped the Korean. "Forget it." He left.

"Well, who is this boy who thinks he can court _you_?" Yao looked murderous. "Um.." "Please tell me this is a hoax!!!" Mei looked tearful. "Maybe later." Kiku edged away. Somehow, he had spent his entire day not reading any mangas, and deciphering messages without a clear idea whatsoever.

 _konshinsokan_ (Japanese) a romantic relationship between brother and sister.

いただきました(Japanese) = 잘 먹겠습니다 (Korean)= 我要开动了(Chinese) - Same meaning as _itadakimashita._

 _垃圾_ (Chinese)-trash

 _hyungnim_ (Korean)-older brother

 _不_ (Chinese)-No

 **So, here it is. The Kiku chapter. Now, Korea's birthday is coming up-which means I have dedicated a Korea chapter!!! Hurray!!! Now warning you guys-if you hate angst, or violence, _skip_ the next chapter and go to the other one. I believe that you who fear bloodshed will be horrified, and I'm sorry for the dreariness. I hope you are enjoying this!!!** **-Sincerly, Suhwa**


	7. In Which the Twins Remember

**Author's Note** : A lot of angst, violence, Kimchiburger mentioned. It's Korea's birthday, people! It's also independence Day here in Korea, celebrating the end of Japanese Oppression. Sorry for being angsty, but if you abhor violence, move to the next chapter. There's more fluff.

"Hello from the other side, I must have called a thousand times, to tell you I'm sorry for breaking your heart, but it doesn't matter, it clearly doesn't tear you apart."-Adele, Hello.

She was moody. Yao noticed it, when he entered the house. He stared at the calendar for a full minute and realized why. "What's the matter with her?" Leon whispered. "Don't you know? It's her birthday tomorrow!" Mei whispered back-a little too loudly. "I heard you." Ha Yeon snapped back.

Yao sighed. Birthdays were a little...difficult for the twins. Their parents had died on their third birthday, and it was on their last birthday that Kiku...no more thought of _that_ incident.

Anyways, as the day loomed closer they became sensitive and unhappy. It was worse than the girls and their periods. Well, but they had plenty of reason to be grumpy. Birthdays to the twins would bring nothing but sorrow and bad memories.

The twins' bad moods seemed to seep into the house. As dinner was served, Kiku made the mistake of spilling his soy sauce-right on Ha Eung's shirt. "Watch it, will you?" The boy growled menacingly. "I'm sorry." Kiku's apology turned things from bad to worse. "You have _a lot_ to be sorry for, don't you?" Ha Eung snarled at him, driving his knife into his meat with too much force. " _Do we have to talk about that?_ "

That was the last thing Kiku should have said. "You always _never_ apologize for things that matter." That came from the black haired girl, who was sitting next to Yao. " _Yeon-ah_ , please." Yao tried to calm his sister.

"I don't get the big deal with you two. Why are you always so miserable when it comes to birthdays?" Yao gave Leon a look. "Leon Wang, _don't_." But Ha Eung had enough. Exams, along with the usual cold shouldering he received, had taken their toll from the boy. As the family stared at him, he slammed his fork into his dish. The dish cracked, and the fork fell to the floor.

"Our parents died on our birthday, you _fool_. Is that a good explanation? Or do you want one that contains Kiku beating us up for three years, and how it all stopped on our last birthday?" Leon gulped.

Surprisingly, it was Mei that spoke. "Ha Eung, we know you two deserve an apology, and we're sorry for...for not helping out." Ha Eung stood. "I don't want your miserable apologies. I want _his_." And with that, he left the table.

"Apologize, Kiku. It doesn't matter if we apologize for you." Mei spoke, her voice soft. "I apologized after I returned from counseling." Kiku studied his spoon. "Well, you must take us for _fools_. You didn't mean any of it. You pretend now that none of your crazy behavior existed. If we believe that crap, that would be _stupid_." Ha Yeon gave the Japanese boy a glare.

"Calm down." At Yao's words, the girl turned around to stare at him. "He doesn't have any problems apologizing to _you_ , and he was so _cruel_ to us. Why can't he lower his pride-he doesn't even _deserve_ it-and say he's sorry?" Yao couldn't answer. "I'm going." She picked up her food and took it into the kitchen. Moments later, she was back, heading to the front door. "Where are you going?" Yao called out, worried. "To someone who _cares_!" She was gone, with the wind. "All of you. Leave." Yao didn't want to see his siblings for now. "But..." "Kiku, you will stay. You and I have to talk." Kiku muttered something about _past mistakes_. "You-don't even _think_ about spouting excuses." Yao had decided. This was enough. He knew that the time had come for Kiku to apologize-sincerely.

"Alfred, it's Yeon." Matthew stood next to the door. They had been eating dinner, Francis, Alfred, Arthur, and Matthew when the bell rang. Alfred had a bad feeling as he went to the door. The moment the door opened, a small figure threw itself on him. It was Yeon, with her heels and her bag. That much he knew. It was _awful_. She was crying. Tears were streaming down her face, and she was gulping in a ton of air every time she seemed to speak. "I...Hate...Him...He...He..." Alfred patted her on the back, as Arthur and Francis looked at their visitor. "Call Yao, will you?" Francis sighed, looking at his boyfriend. "Why?" "I think she's in no condition to go home." Arthur nodded. The Kirklands knew who _he_ was.

When Yao turned seventeen, the presidents of his parents' company had died, leaving their children. It had been unspoken that the Wang family take them, to be their guardians. It was unsaid that the Wangs would take over their business.

Yao had understood that he wasn't supposed to harbor any emotions for them. They were a tool for his parents to get the company. When he had helped his parents bring the three-year-olds home, he had expected Kiku looking jealous and Mei looking glum. He had not expected himself to thaw to them so easily. In fact, it would have been impossible _not to love them._ It had been the good days, the golden times, Kiku writing calligraphy, Mei picking flowers, Ha Eung with his plastic soldiers, Ha Yeon with her laugh, running into everyone.

Then it all stopped.

His parents passed away. Yao was expected to fill in their post. He went to work everyday, tired, stressed. At least he could always look forward to his siblings and their happy faces. That was why he had refused to believe their happiness was crumbling.

"Fighting?" "I'm sorry. It won't happen again." Kiku's head was bowed. "I told you that was a _last_ resort!" "They were mocking me!" Yao gaped. "Honda Kiku, you will not..." "That's why you're weak." Kiku glared at him. "What did you say?" "You are weak, older brother. You are mocked by everyone." And with that he left Yao to stare at the _Times; Young President of Asia Corp Unable to Deal with Crisis._

" _Oppa_." Her voice brought him back to earth. "What is it?" He kept his voice calm. "Why is he so angry? " "He was just..." "He's always angry." Ha Yeon sat next to him, studying the floor. " _Yeon-ah_ , I want you to remember that fighting is a last resort. You or your brother are not to fight. Do you understand?" The girl nodded. Her voice was small, almost faltering as she spoke. "What if..." "What?" Ha Yeon smiled. "Nothing, _oppa_." How false her smile had been. How foolish he had been.

"Ha Yeon is at our house." The Englishman's voice informed him of his sister's whereabouts. "Tell her to come home, it's late." There was a pause. "I think it's a bad idea." Arthur Kirkland seemed to swallow. "Ma chère, is that Wang Yao? Can I talk to him?" That was the annoying Frenchman, Francis Bonnefoy. Yao knew he was expected to answer. "Yes. But he better be quick about it, I have a brother to scold." The telephone seemed to be passed to Francis.

" _Bonjour_?" "Yes, what?" "I think _mademoiselle_ should stay today, _monsieur_." Yao scoffed. "She'll do no such thing." "Well, I understand your concern, but she keeps crying. And I think if she goes back, she'll fight with..." "Yes. I get the idea." Yao felt horrible. He was a stupid older brother. If he had noticed earlier, then Ha Eung wouldn't have become a psychopath. Ha Yeon would have remained his sweet summer child.

"Tell her she can stay." Francis seemed to pass the phone to someone. "Hey, Wang." It was Arthur. "What?" "Tell Leon...Tell Leon to come and visit sometime." "Yes, I'll tell him. And Kirkland?" "What?" "Tell Yeon I'm sorry for being a stupid older brother." Again, that uncomfortable silence. "Yes." Arthur Kirkland hung up.

" _Oni-san._ " Kiku sat across from Yao, who had just ended his call. "She doesn't feel like coming home." Yao spat at him. "I..." "You what? You were just trying to _help_ them? You were being a good older brother?" Yao glared at him, and Kiku felt like a seven year old, being scolded for a mistake. "I didn't mean to hurt them!" He blurted out.

Wang Yao was renowned for being cold in the world of business. He was also famous for his death stare, which he gave to the companies that challenged him. The stare he gave Kiku was his finest. "You didn't _mean_ to?" Kiku quaked under his glare. "Alfred Jones found _lacerations_ on Ha Yeon's wrist! Ha Eung went to the hospital because he had a broken _rib_! And that's what you call _help_?"

He had really meant well. After seeing Yao suffer, he knew that he had to grow strong. So he _did_. He made friends with Ludwig and Feliciano Vargas. He grew to be one of the most feared and most loved in the school from just _Wang Yao's nerdy brother._ He _knew_ the twins needed to survive like him. He was just giving them a hand up. They needed help. It was a pity they wouldn't just listen to him like Mei. He had to punish them, but they didn't have to go all _dramatic._

"They weren't listening to me!" "Well, perhaps they didn't need your help!" Kiku couldn't understand. "I made them famous and powerful!" "By what, _violence_? Look what became of them!" Kiku flinched. Ha Eung never smiled. And about Ha Yeon...

"I..." "You broke them, Kiku. They had so much, and you _stole_ three years from them." Yao stood. "Apologize to them if you want to. I won't force you." And for the first time in a long while, Kiku felt shame.

"Better?" Ha Yeon nodded. Alfred handed her the Kleenex. "Thanks." Her voice was hoarse. "What happened?" He finally mustered the courage to ask her, but when he did, he immediately felt awful. "We were eating dinner. Kiku spilled soy sauce on Ha Eung's shirt and apologized." "And?" "Ha Eung was upset. He got angry...And I got angry." Now she sounded a bit embarrassed."Why?" Alfred was preparing himself for an emotional outburst. "Because...because he can apologize for a small thing like spilling soy sauce, and he won't apologize for being _mean_!"

If anyone said that Ha Yeon was overreacting, they were fools. He knew just how cruel the Japanese boy could be. It had been a hot day, so hot that his ice cream had melted and was dribbling down his hand. Alfred was hurrying back home for Kleenex and his basketball. The others would be waiting for him. Boy, they would lecture him for being late. He never knew he wouldn't make it to that game.

"Hey!" It was a girl, standing by the edge of a railing. Alfred knew that it was too dangerous. He was the _hero_ of the basketball team. He had to save her before she killed herself accidently. The girl _ignored_ him completely when he shouted at her to get down. Frustrating. He glared at the figure as he ran toward her. She slowly turned, staring at him. She had enchanting chocolate colored eyes, and her face was-wait. Something was wrong. She had a bloody lip, and there were tearmarks. The girl stepped backward, and Alfred, who had finally gotten to the railing, instinctively grabbed hold of her, and threw her on the ground-basically, her topping him.

"Are you _insane_? Why won't you listen, geez-" "Why couldn't you leave me alone?" Great, she was crying. "Look, I saved your miserable life! Some gratitude would be nice." As he got up, he could see something else that disturbed him. There were _cuts_ on her wrist. "Hey, are you okay?" All right, she was suicidal. "Hey! Do you need help or anything?" She didn't answer him, and he felt like a fool. He turned, ready to go. " _Yes._ " It was a quavering voice, but he turned. Something-at that time he called it his _heroic side_ , but now it was more like _destiny_ -told him this girl was in big trouble.

It turned out that this suicidal character was actually named Lee Ha Yeon, with a sister and three brothers. She was proud of her oldest brother, who was off on a seminar to China. She loved her twin brother. But her other brother-the _git._ He had been hitting her. She had tried to make him stop, but had failed. The twins were weaker than him, and the constant violence had sent her nearly to her death.

"Did you try telling, you know-your big bro?" She shook her head. "He-he's already having a hard time without me to add on it." So she was sacrificing. "Well, how about the authorities?" "No!" For a tiny girl, she was sure loud. "It...it's going to ruin our family...And Yao _oppa_ 's going to be blamed because of Kiku-" She clapped her hands to her mouth in horror as Alfred pieced two and two together. He knew of the CEO of Asia Corp. His cousin Arthur disliked the man-Wang Yao. So that was her oldest brother. No wonder she hadn't been telling anyone. It would wreck havoc for the guy. And if she was talking about Kiku-" Is it Kiku Honda?" She didn't say yes, but she didn't say no. "Oh." Alfred knew Kiku. He was well-known, liked, in the gang nicknamed **The** **Axis**. As a matter of fact, the school was split in two groups. **The Axis** lead by Honda Kiku, Ludwig, Feliciano Vargas, and **The Allies** , of which he lead. So, Honda Kiku was hurting his own family. "He seemed to be in good terms with your other sister." She sighed. "He was always fond of her. And besides, she was close to him." "What a bastard." Alfred was feeling murderous as he studied this girl. Although she had done a good job with covering her wounds-wiping her bloody lip from before with her napkin-there were some cuts on her neck, and he was sure that would only be the beginning. "I'll kill him." "Don't. If Kiku finds out I told..." "He won't." Alfred stood, ready to leave. "Bye, Lee." "It's Yeon." And that was a beginning of a very perilous friendship.

Ha Eung stared at the wall. "Ha Eung?" It was Mei. "Go to your favorite brother. Leave me in _peace_." He didn't want to have a talk. He wasn't his sister, who went crying off to just about anyone. He had heard Yao telling Kiku off in Kiku's room. He _had_ to, for he lived next door to the psychopath. Mei didn't seem to care. She walked right on him, in the middle of his memory lane trip. "Oh, I...I didn't mean to.." She, Mei Wang, had seen him, the _ultimate psycho_ crying.

Staring at the blankness of the wall wouldn't work for stalling his tears anymore. Ha Eung wiped his tears off angrily. "What do you want? If you want to defend Kiku, then _leave_." "I...I just wanted to hear." "Hear what?" "Your story." That was new. Sure, everyone had seen their wounds, but no one had asked him about it. "It was awful." "Is that it?" "No. We didn't _need_ his help, we just wanted to keep our small group of friends, and be peaceful." They had never wanted to stand out. "And so when Kiku offered to help, we were, well, half and half." It wasn't like they were going to lose anything.

"But he started to take over-" It began from the smallest, asking to borrow stuff. They had argued, but Kiku was helping them with making new connections, being more popular-it seemed fair, that is, until Kiku started using them as his personal servants.

"He kept on wanting. There was no end. He wanted us to shine his shoes, to do his science homework, to do this, to do that-" Ah, yes. He could remember his indignance along with Ha Yeon's. _Our parents were aristocrats. Do you think they would want to see us groveling?_

"And whenever we protested, he would hit us." It had begun with a slap. A verbal argument, and at the end, his cheek was burning. It had grown more and more brutal. Whenever things grew difficult for the older boy, they would quake for fear.

"We were basically his slaves." _Yes, they were._ Yao never knew. He himself had not wanted to tell _hyung_ , and so had Ha Yeon. They would cry or get angry in their seperate rooms, and text each other about the unfairness of it all. They would go to school, where Kiku's friends Ludwig and Feliciano would tell them that they were lucky, and they would lie through their teeth.

"It got worse. When _Yao-hyung_ left for that seminar in China, well-you know about that." Mei had had it easy compared to them. She was Kiku's favorite. She remained oblivious amidst it all. But even she had found out.

"I started to buy knives from that time. I thought he was going to kill us." Yes, they all had. Kiku's school career wasn't working out. There was the other group-the **Allies** , and Kiku got pissed off because of it. Whenever he returned home, he would yell at them, throw random objects and threaten to kill them. Usually they all ran for it. Mostly Ha Yeon would end up crying. It was almost always her or him. "And he almost did." Mei spoke silently. "Yes, he almost did." Ha Eung grimaced. That had been the last fight. The one on his birthday.

"Today's our birthday." Ha Yeon had announced. She had seemed brighter, something about a new friend. "Yes, it is." And it was also the day Yao would come home. "Well, I invited someone." "Who is it?" Ha Eung asked her casually. "Alfred Jones." Ha Eung was shocked beyond words. "Why?" "He is a fucking **Ally**! What do you think Kiku's going to do?" "Yao's coming home. What do you think he can do?" That was the reason of her bliss. Well, he couldn't blame her. He couldn't wait for the violence to end.

It's her birthday, and she's invited her friend for dinner. Her older brother is coming home. She can ignore the looks some of the other students are giving her, possibly because she has a bruise on her leg. Ha Yeon is happy. As she passes a crowd of students, she catches words like Honda Kiku and Alfred Jones. "What is it?" She asks someone. "Well, seems like Honda and Jones had a fight." Somebody answers. Her heart is pounding. "And?" "Good for Jones, he won." She manages to keep her face calm. If Alfred wins Kiku enough to _deflate_ his head, then he might return to normal. That's what they call _wishful thinking._ When she returns home, she expects to see _Yao-oppa_. She is not expecting _him._

"Well, little sister." She gulps. "Yes?" "I heard something at school." "About what?" "Alfred Jones. Is he coming to dinner?" So he knew. "Yao's coming back." She tries to keep her voice calm. "So what? You think I can't hit you?" He slaps her hard enough to make her go reeling. "Please, don't.." He ignores her, as he kicks her on the shin.

There is a shout. "Son of a dog!" Ha Eung is there, pushing Kiku away from her, and hitting him on his proud face. But Kiku is always stronger, and her brother is on the floor, writhing, in pain. She hears something crack. "You dare attack me?" Kiku is fuming, as he chokes her brother.

"Leave him alone!" She tries to make him stop, but he _won't_. He doesn't know when to stop. There is only one person who can make him. Ha Yeon staggers to her feet, throws open the front door, and goes running. She doesn't care that her shoe is missing. She needs to run to someone who _can_ help her. That's when she runs into someone. "I'm so sorry, sir.."

The man she bumps into gapes at her. "Lass, what.." She recognizes him as Alfred's cousin. "Alfred..." And he is there, looking furious, staring at the damage done. "Alfred, he..he's going to kill Ha Eung...He's crazy..." "Fuck that bastard." Alfred Jones marches her towards her house, and she can see a car parked in the lot. Yao's. There is shouting. As they enter, this is what they see.

Broken glass is everywhere. Ha Eung is there, on the floor, in pain. Mei is crying, calling the ambulance. Yao has Kiku in a death grip, by the collar. "Your own brother! This is a disgrace!" Kiku shoves Yao's hand away, and that is where Alfred jumps in. He practically throws himself on Kiku, punching every bit of the boy he can find. Arthur puts a hand over her eyes, muttering something about mental well-being. "They're your _family_!" Alfred's furious from the look of it.

"Stop it! Who are you?" "Someone who feels the need to kick his ass." Alfred ignores Yao and continues his assault. Even by the sounds of it, she can see Kiku Honda is breaking. "If you ever hurt _them_ -or mess with me _again_ -you will end up as a pile of meat." That is his last words before Alfred F. Jones hits Kiku squarely on the chest. They can hear the ambulance in the silence that follows. Arthur has stopped shielding her eyes. "It's over, Yeon. He won't ever hurt you again." Alfred is panting as he draws her into a hug. It's her birthday, and she has finally gained freedom. It's August 15th, and she and Ha Eung are sixteen now. They are _free._ "What the..." It's a dream, and Ha Yeon wakes at August 15th, with tears in her eyes, Alfred by her side. She's seventeen.

Names, ages, jobs of countries

Alfred F. Jones/17/America/Student

Arthur Kirkland/30/England/Lawyer

Matthew W. Jones/17/Canada/Student

Ha-Yeon Lee/17/South Korea/Student

Ha-Eung Lee/17/North Korea/Student

Honda Kiku/18/Japan/Student

Mei Wang/17/Taiwan/Student

Leon Wang/16/Hong Kong/Student

Yao Wang/30/China/CEO of Asia Corp.

Francis Bonnefoy/30/France/Model

All right, I _warned_ you guys about this. But sorry again. Korea's Birthday is kind of a sad day in Korea, so I had to show you the sadness before I could actually show you the fluff. I am really sorry you had to see all the **Violence/Suicidal SK/NK Tearing Up/Upset China.**

Please don't be too offended if you are Japanese...I don't have anything personal against Japan, but I needed this chapter. I wanted to make it into one chapter, but this turned out too long-agh...Which means this will be split in **TWO**.

This chapter **(ANGST)** plus the next chapter

 **(FLUFF/HUMOR/FAMILY/ROMANCE)** will be Korea's Birthday Special.

I promise you the other Asians will all have their birthday chapters, and again, I apologize for all the angst.


	8. In Which They Forgive

Ha-Yeon Lee/17/South Korea/S

Ha-Eung Lee/17/North Korea/S

Matthew Jones/17/Canada/S

Arthur Kirkland/30/England/Lawyer

Alfred F. Jones/17/America/S

Francis Bonnefoy/30/France/Model

Yao Wang/30/China/CEO of Asia Corp.

Kiku Honda/18/Japan/S

Mei Wang/17/Taiwan/S

Leon Wang/16/Hong Kong/S

Yekaterina Bradinski/17/Ukraine/S

Gilbert/17/Prussia/S

Natalia Bradinski/17/Belarus/S

Feliciano Vargas/18/Italy/S

"What the hell..." She was dreaming. Of course. Next to her, Alfred is dozing off and the TV is blaring. They had been watching reruns of Glee while eating popcorn. It was just an awful dream. It's not real life anymore. When she looks outside, she can see it's morning. There is a sound from the stairs.

"You're awake." Matthew. Matthew smiles at her and hands her a well-wrapped present. "Happy birthday." When she gingerly opens the box, she finds herself looking at-"Aw, it's soooo cute!" A teddy bear. She hasn't had one of those in what-A century? But it's so cute, and she thanks him. There is more noise.

" _Bonjour!_ " Francis comes strolling into view, and he too hands her something. It turns out to be a dress-the height of fashion. She guesses it must be expensive, but the Kirklands and Wangs are rich. " _Merci_!" She gives him a hug and Francis laughs. "Well, _ma cherie,_ it occurred to me that you had no need of makeup, and it _is_ your birthday."

Arthur enters, looking a bit groggy, and holding a pile of what looks like ash. "Happy birthday, lass. Here. Have a scone." Ha Yeon forces herself to not cringe, and eats the ash-sorry, _scone_. "This is..." "Delicious? Scrumptious?" Arthur is looking all expectant, but the doorbell suddenly rings, and there is a shout.

"Alfred! School!" Then there is the usual cursing. "I forgot it was school-" "Geez, what am I supposed to wear-" "My photo shoot-" Ha Yeon glares at Alfred, who is still sleeping. "Wake up!" "Huh?" He sees the clock, and curses as he throws on his clothes. "# ! * # !" "Well, at least you have something to wear." She snaps at him. "You can wear my collared shirt." So senseless. Ha Yeon glares at him but takes his shirt, grimacing all the time.

Finally. They've arrived at school thanks to Alfred's car, and Ha Yeon hops off, practically clutching her cell phone which is teaming over with texts.

 _Happy Birthday, Yeon! Congratulations!_

 _-Yekaterina-_

 _Congrats._

 _-Hercules-_

 _You left your clothes at home, idiot._

- _Douchebag-_

Ha Yeon stares at a figure running her way, looking positively furious. "바보, 멍청이, 병신." Ha Eung is holding a shopping bag in one hand, which he thrusts to her. "Get lost." She opens her mouth in disbelief. "What happened to _you_?" "You _forgot_ your damn clothes. And that American's stuff looks ridiculous." Her brother looked as if he had been crying. And he never cried. "All right, all right. Geez." She hurried into the restroom, changing into her own clothes.

As she left the restroom, she heard the occassional "Hi"s and "Hello"s. She gave them a curt nod and sat next to Alfred on her usual seat. "Here." She handed him his shirt."Um, you don't have to return it." "And do what? I'd look _foolish_ , walking around with a shirt not my size!" Alfred gave her a glare. He _never_ glared at her, no matter what she did. "Well, I'm _sorry._ " "Hey, Al, what's wrong?" "Nothing." "Well, it's not like you forgot my birthday or anything. Come on, you can always make up with a present-" "I don't feel like it." And with that he took his bag and dumped it next to the seat of Yekaterina. "You don't mind?" Alfred smiled at the dumbstruck girl. "Um..."

Ha Yeon glared at the cheerleader. She would _pulverize_ that girl, she would. _How dare she sit next to Alfred? He's mine! Wait.. What?_ She shook herself. It was her _bloody_ birthday. She could live without the selfish, thoughtless, jerk that she _called_ her best friend. "Hey, birthday girl's here!" It was Gilbert. "Hi." She answered. "Well, _what_ are we doing? We should celebrate!"

And with that the class surrounded her.

"Happy birthday to you, you live in a zoo~"

"I _do not_ live in a zoo!"

She protested, but then she was laughing. How she loved her friends, how kind they were to her. But then- _they wouldn't have helped you if you didn't hang out with Al._

A voice nagged at the back of her head. _No._ She ignored it. _Oh, yes. They just hang out with you because you live with important people, know powerful people._

"You smell like a monkey, and you look-"

She cut them off. "Enough." The mood for celebration had just left her. "Aww, something wrong? Perhaps lover boy could help out-" She smiled at the albino. "No, it has _nothing_ to do with _that._ Where's my brother?" "Who? Psycho?" "He is not a psycho, but yes. My twin." "He left to the basement." She didn't like the idea of Ha Eung left alone in a basement. "Thanks." Ha Yeon slid the door open, and left.

He sat there, a cigarette poised at the ready. He had heard that smoking was good for _curing broken hearts._ Perhaps it could cure broken minds like his own. He pulled out a lighter, lit it, than began to smoke.

"That's what you call smoking?" A voice lilted in laughter caught his attention, as he coughed. It was a pretty girl, he knew her by the name of Natalia. She was a cheerleader, and she never smiled. There was the rumor that she was obsessed with her half-brother, who Yao abhorred.

"None of your business." Ha Eung stamped out his cigarette. _Never again will I smoke._ "Aren't you Ha-Eung Lee?" The question caught him. Nobody in this damned school called him by name. He was either _psycho, crazy,_ or _Ha-Yeon Lee's brother._

"Yes." He hid his surprise. "How do you know me?" "Oh, we crazy people have a way of knowing each other." She smiled, then lit a match. "You look normal." He commented, then thought how stupid it was. He was good-looking to a person who first saw him, with a serious look. They changed their words later on to scary and murderous. Not that he cared, it was almost funny how they changed so quickly.

"You look normal as well." Natalia sat on the stairs next to him. "They were preparing to celebrate her birthday, so I left. Boring, and too noisy." He knew who _her_ stood for. There was only one _her_ with a birthday to match his own. "Well, they're always noisy." The girl grinned at him. That was when he saw her knife. "You...You have a knife?" "Of course. It's a tough world." And there was that gleam to her eye that matched his own. As they discussed the various knives, the basement door opened and light flooded in. "What is it, Yekaterina?" It was not Natalia's sister, the teary one. "Do I look like her?"

It was his own. "너 누가 지하로 가래? 미쳤어? 그리고 이 구린내는 또 뭐야?(Who told you to go to the basement? Are you crazy? And what is that _awful_ smell?)" She was clearly upset, using Korean. "진정해. 아무도 안 죽었어.(Calm down. No one died here.)" She wouldn't calm down. "쟨 또 뭐야, 왜 저기 쪼그리고 있어? 둘이 담배 핀 거야?(Who is she, why is she crouching there? Did you guys smoke or something?)" "Calm down, sis. It's unlike you to worry about health." He hadn't called her sis in a couple months. Ha Yeon gawked as he stood, and followed him out of the basement. As he sat down on his chair, he noticed that there was a new bag next to his sister's. "The American changed his bag?" She didn't say anything as she slid into her chair, and as the class began, he noticed that the American was sitting next to Natalia's sister. _That's what pissed her off._ He smirks, but then remembers the jerk happens to be one of the people who _really_ cares for her. That wipes the smile off his face.

He cannot believe he's doing this. "So, _I_ have to write?" "Well, if you are going to..." "Yes, I get it." Kiku cuts Feliciano off as he stares at the long, white piece of paper. _Why didn't I realize how long A4 paper was?_ He, Kiku Honda was planning something. The only bad aspect of the plan was, well, he was reluctant.

 _To. My Dear Little Twins._

He erased _Dear_ and _Little._ He rewrote the entire first sentence. He was _never_ going to write a letter, again.

 _To. My Brother and Sister._

There. Much better. From behind him, Feliciano groaned. "What's with the formalities?" "They aren't little anymore." He explains, as he writes _Happy birthday._ Kiku looked at the two lines he has neatly written, as he slowly added another. _I'm sorry._ "That is the _worst_ apology ever." The Italian pinched the bridge of his nose. It was hopeless to believe that the twins would _ever_ forgive Kiku after reading this dense letter.

Alfred glared at the sight he saw before him. Lee Ha Yeon's desk was littered with gifts. "Hey, Lee! Happy birthday!" A boy he didn't even know approached Ha Yeon's desk and handed her a neatly wrapped present. "Thanks." Ha Yeon opened it, and screamed in delight. "Ohmygod! This is so cool! Thanks, seriously!" " _What_ is it?" Her twin glared at his sister. "It's stationary! Look at it!" Now even the _psycho_ looked jealous. "Hmph."

"Al?" It was Elizaveta, the most perverted person in the school year. Heck, she looked curious. "What." Alfred glared up at her. "YOU didn't congratulate Yeon on her birthday." She sounded a bit accusatory. "Cheerleaders." He snarled. He wasn't in the mood to say _congrats, Yeon. Happy Birthday._

"I thought you liked her." "She's a good friend." Yes, a good friend. And it has to end _that_ way. "Well, not like _that._ " She was grinning like a Cheshire Cat. "What are you implying?" "Just that although _you_ are the definition of popular, Ha-Yeon Lee is capable of living _without_ you." "No, she isn't!" He snapped, totally unaware that everyone was staring at him.

For some reason, the Hungarian was smiling. "So, she's incapable?" "She's spoiled! She always talks back, and she _has_ to go and drink around! I _have_ to take care of her, because I'm _worried_ the idiot will get into trouble!" "Then _why_ were you so upset?" "I AM NOT UPSET!" "Yes, you were!" It was _not_ Elizaveta. The Korean was standing behind the Hungarian, arms crossed.

"Look, I just wanted to buy you a _fucking birthday present_ , and the _bloody airmail_ wouldn't arrive in time! And then that _jerk_ Kiku just _had to go and ruin your feelings again_ , and you looked so bloody unhappy. And it turns out the _whole class_ bought you presents, and I am _the only person_ who is _incapable_ of buying you _anything_!"

There. Done. Alfred felt horrible as he looked at the sets of eyes staring at him. "It's okay." The Korean was reassuring. "No, it's _not_ okay!" "Oh, yes, it is." Ha Yeon just nodded.

And _then_ he received the _ultimate taekwondo kick._ "If you _ever_ act like that again for a reason as _stupid_ as that, I _won't_ go over to your house-or come to your parties. Ever. Again." "Hey, I was just trying to be a hero!" Alfred protested, as his friends began to laugh. "Looks like the villain wins every time." Ha Eung commented. "She's not a villain, she's my heroine!" And _that_ earned him a _soccer kick_ from Ha Yeon's _male_ counterpart. "How _dare_ you nickname my sister after a drug!" Which earned more laughter. Apparently, Koreans didn't know confessions when they heard one.

The twins would be home soon. Yao held his breath as the door opened. "갖다 왔어요!" "다녀왔습니다!(I'm back!)" Their voices chorused through the household. Yao went to greet them. Ha Yeon's bag was bulging with gifts. Ha Eung-well, his younger brother didn't seem to have anything, but he looked pleased. "Wash your hands and come downstairs. I have a gift for you." "Hurray!" Ha Yeon scampered upstairs. Ha Eung lingered for a while. "Hyung-nim, I have a question to ask of you." The boy looked-shy? "What is it?" "I...received a gift." Now Yao was shocked as the teen pulled out a knife with a note attached. The note was pink, and Yao read it.

 _You aren't as bad as they say you are. Perhaps._

 _-From Natalia-_

"Natalia Bradinski?" Ha Eung nodded. "I found it on my desk." Yao didn't know what to say. For one thing, he was glad his younger brother _had_ a gift. But..."Why her?" "I don't know." Ha Eung sighed. "Hyung-nim, can't I keep this one?" "Okay." Ha Eung looked pleased as his sister returned, and gave Yao her usual hug. "Oppa, hi!" "Hello, Yeon-ah." He handed each twin a gift wrapped in silk. Ha Yeon removed the silk cautiously and gasped. It was a _hanbok._ The kind they saw queens wearing in Korean dramas. Ha Eung's gift was the _gonryeongpo_.(The _hanbok_ that kings wore) "I bought them. If you don't like them.." "Oppa, thank you!" Ha Yeon threw her arms around him and kissed him on the cheek. "Thank you, hyung." Ha Eung seemed to be speechless.

"What's going on?" It was Leon, who had returned. He took one look at the scene in front of him, and disappeared, muttering something about craziness. Within five minutes he was back. "Here." Ha Yeon stared at her brother, who had handed her a shoe box. "What is it?" "Never mind." Leon wouldn't meet her in the eye as he handed Ha Eung a box.

"Leon..." Ha Yeon was speechless as she opened the box. It was a pair of shoes. Goldengoose. The new popular brand. "I don't know your size, but Mei told me this would fit." Leon muttered, just as Ha Eung opened his present. "Kid, you didn't have to." His was a knife holder. Leather.

"I'm sorry about the knife. And your shoes. And I'm sorry about being rude to you." Leon stared at the floor. "Awww, sweetie, you didn't have to." Ha Yeon gave her little brother a hug. "How much was it? I'll repay you." "No. I messed up your shoes." And Leon kept on staring at the floor, his voice wobbly. "I'm sorry about your fireworks, little one." "I am _not_ little." But Leon was slowly smiling. "Kid." Ha Eung spoke. "Yes?" "You aren't that evil." That was the closest to an apology. "You aren't that crazy either." Leon smirked. It seemed like the wounds were slowly mending.

"Hey, guys!" It was Mei. "What's up?" "Well, Kiku told me to give this to you. He said he would be out with his friends." "Such rudeness." Yao sighed, but beckoned Mei to hand him the box she was holding. Mei sat on the sofa as the twins opened the box.

 _To. My brother and sister._

 _I know I should be the one to give you this box, but it seems I don't deserve to look you in the eye. I have done many things in my life, and some things I am not proud of. I terrorized over you two, and I know you suffered a great deal. And I'm sorry. I know I should apologize in person, yes. But it's difficult. I'm not begging you to forgive me. Old wounds don't mend easily, and I know what I've done to you is cruel. However I hope you have a good day. Happy Birthday._

 _From. Kiku Honda_

Ha Yeon was the first to speak. "He remembered." It was a pin shaped like a Sharon.

 _"Oppa, look!" Little Ha Yeon pointed at a blossom of a chrysanthemum. "It's beautiful!" "Yes, it is." Kiku smiled at his sister among the blossoms. "I heard Korea has sharons." "And?" "They're so hard to find here." Ha Yeon looked glum. "Don't be sad, I'll buy you the finest sharon on earth." "Really?" "Yes, really. You can look at it every day." "Promise!" "Promise." It was a small, sweet promise made by the two children._

Ha Eung stared at something else. "My knife. He took it from me." The knife that had been his father's, then which was taken to Kiku lay there in the box.

It was Yao who broke the silence. "You don't forgive someone for the sake of the person, you forgive for your sake." The twins were silent. As the night proceeded, the room slowly emptied-Leon for science homework, Mei for Chinese, Yao for talking with his clients.

The twins were still there when a slightly tottering Kiku entered. "What are you doing so late?" "We cannot _forget_." Kiku's face fell at the words. "I know." He seemed to have readied himself. "But we can _forgive._ " The threesome locked eyes.

They were family, not by blood, but by relations and bonds. They had spent years of harmony and years of tears and blood. They would argue, and their relationship would be the most perilous.

It wasn't like Ha Eung could forget his broken rib, or Ha Yeon her cuts. Kiku forgetting his wrongs would never happen. It couldn't go back to the days when they were children. But they could mend, slowly.

Ha Eung stood from his place. "What's on TV?" Kiku asked. "Game of Thrones." "Well, let's watch." The odd threesome sat there, Kiku smelling of drink, Ha Yeon eating ramen she had brought from the kitchen, Ha Eung fiddling with his knife. Yes, they looked strange. But yes, you couldn't deny they were family.

바보- _idiot in Korean_

멍청이 _-fool in Korean_

병신- _ill or unstable person in Korean_ (rude)

Korean teens have a thing for stationary.

And yeah, I was adding a NKBel thing. Why? Because they seemed so similar.

 **Korean teens really have this thing for stationary. And yes, there's this NKBel thing I slightly added. There was a bit of Kimchiburger that we all love and adore. So Alfred's being kinda upset because he couldn't give Yeon the present in time. And Yeon was thinking, well maybe he doesn't care about me anymore.** **Korea's national flower is the sharon.** **The history thing in this one is the part where Ha Eung gets his knife back. Korea's treasures were stolen, or sent to Japan during colonization. After Korea became an independent country, Japan returned _some_ of Korea's treasures. But there are still a lot left there.**

 **Anyway, I hope you liked this chapter. I wanted to make this fluffy as compensation. But as you all know I am USELESS with fluff. Plus, could you guys tell me whose life you want to see? I have like five options.**

 **1\. Mei (feat. Leon)**

 **2\. Yao (feat. Ivan)**

 **3\. Ha Yeon (feat. Alfred)**

 **4\. Ha Eung (feat. Natalia)**

 **5\. All the Asians (feat. Movie Night)**

 **Hi. Xihwa here.**

 **So...Umm...There is a teeny problem. Actually it's not teeny at all.**

 **So, someone(thank you..wink!) feedbacked and said that Korea's birthday was October.**

 **And I freaked out.**

 **Which is embarrassing. Why?**

 **Because. The. Author. Is Korean.**

 **After some research, I found out that there are two opinions about when Korea's birthday is.**

 **1\. October 3rd**

 **2\. August 15th**

 **I decided to go with August 15th, because well, it seemed more fitting when I researched again.**

 **I thank _all_** **of you who has followed me so far. YOU are my inspiration not to give up this pathetic tale.**

 **Merci Beaucoup. Thank You. Arigato.**

 **Xie-xie. And last but not least, 감사합니다.**

 **-수화, South Korea**

PS. Thank you, I really appreciated your comment!


	9. In Which the Siblings Deal With Stalkers

Author's note: One sided RusCh

"Hi, older brother." "Yes, hello." Yao slammed his door. Mei gaped. Her brother _never_ got upset. Slamming the door was Ha Eung's thing. "Is something wrong?" "It's Friday." "If I recall, you liked Friday!" That was from her sister, who was holding a towel in one hand. "No, I don't." And with that, he stormed downstairs.

Wang Yao was a very _important_ man. For one thing, his company _was_ Asia Corp. That company happened to make the finest gadgets in town, dealing with cars, phones, mp3 players, computers, high-technology, deep-learning and so on. Basically you name it, they had it.

They had built their fundamental ground-their roots in the East. The West had been a challenge at first but they were persistent, persistent enough to be one of the strongest companies in the world.

For another, he was known for being the man who had everything. He had money-Asia Corp, he had influence as a CEO and through his family's links. He was good looking with many admirers, he was well educated and well mannered.

The sad thing about him was his _disasterous_ love life. God was fair, and Yao knew _how_ cruel he was to Yao as the CEO sat at the backseat of his chauffeur's car, listening to animation theme songs through his headphones. _Let It Go_ was on. Oh, how dearly he wished that he could.

"Damn, damn, damn!" Yao shouted as he stared as his schedule. Booked. And what was worse-"Please don't tell me I have to see that Russian fellow again." "Sir, he requests you help him with his choosing..." His assistant sighed. The assistant knew when he was in a foul mood. "Yes, yes, whatever."

A long time ago, when his parents Wang Song and Keum had owned Asia Corp, after the car accident that had killed Kim All Yeong and Lee Ju Mong-that is, the parents of his twin siblings, he had actually liked meeting clients.

And he had met him. The boss of the mafia. The _true_ psychopath. Ivan Bradinski and his two siblings. His older sister Yekaterina was the only sane person of the family.

After that encounter, Ivan had actually told everyone to keep their filthy hands off _his_ Yao-Yao. He, Wang Yao had been disgusted. He had also told the press that yes, he was angry, _no_ , he was _not_ in a relationship with that man, yes, he would _never_ like that man. And from that day forth, the madman had stalked him. It was either stalking, or meeting him for business.

He knew after all his talks with the gangster, that Ha Eung was actually kind compared to this man, and that Alfred F. Jones was a child, also compared. And they were the worst out of all the teens he knew. Yao groaned at the prospect.

The door swung open, and he expected Ivan to be standing there, holding his damn sunflowers. "Hyung, I'm sorry. I just came to ask you.." It was his brother. Ha Eung.

Yes, he had told the boy it was his time to venture around the corporation. It would have rightfully been Ha Eung's corporation, but...

At least the boy would be a chairman, holding 30% of the place.(He held 40, and Ha Yeon had 30%.)But even if the boy was to be chairman, he needed experience-he wouldn't be a parachute-he would have the talent, the power, the knowledge to be chairman. That was exactly why Ha Eung Lee was here. To see his hyung work, and to learn.

Yao had almost forgotten about his little brother. Now that he thought of it..."Ha Eung?" "Yes?" "Would you like to sit in one of my private meetings with a client?" "What?" The boy sounded shocked. Yao repeated the question. The reason was simple. Even Ivan wouldn't show his crazy behavior in front of a child.

"...I'm honored, 형님(older brother)." And as if to prove his point, he pulled out his phone. "Wait. What are you..." "To celebrate. I'm calling Ha Yeon." "Don't." The last thing he wanted was his little sister meeting Ivan. "Too late." Now they could hear her voice. "뭔데? 나 지금 치어리더 연습하는 중이야. (What is it? Look, I'm in the middle of cheer practice.)" "형님이 나한테 형님이 중요한 고객이랑 있는 걸 보기를 바라셔! (Hyungnim wants me to see him with a very important client!)"

That got her. "뭐...거짓말. (Wha...You're lying.)" "Turn off the phone!" Yao hissed. Again, too late. "Is that oppa? Wait, you better-" Ha Eung didn't get the chance to hear what he had better do, as the door swung open, and Yao snatched the phone from him, ending the call.

"Yao-Yao!" A man walked in, flanked by two girls. One of them was carrying knives, the other was crying. "Mr.Bradinski." Unlike his ecstatic client, Yao's voice was clipped. "Vell, it has been a long time, my dear Yao." Ivan stretched a hand toward him. Then Ha Eung moved in a flash, and a knife had implanted itself on the wooden desk. "Ha Eung! I thought I confiscated all of your knives!" His younger brother shrugged it off. "In a world with creeps like this, fifteen knives aren't enough." Now he remembered that even if his brother wasn't as cruel as Ivan, he was a highly dangerous psychopath. Ivan's eyebrow rose. "Who is this, Yao-Yao?" "That is my brother, Lee Ha Eung."

The girl next to Ivan suppressed a gasp. "Older Brother, I know him!" Yao knew the girl as 'the other person in Ha Eung's class who was obsessed with weaponry.' Natalia Bradinski also happened to be obsessed with her brother. As Yao wondered how his brother could actually get along with this girl, Ivan stared at his brother. "You know my sister?" "Yes. Her knife seemed to be made of high quality steel, and I was trying to take a look. It seemed sharp enough to kill." Of course. Yao knew his brother to be that sort of person, who was in love with his knives and dangerous objects. He was only hoping that Ivan didn't think the boy was joking. "You have an interesting interest." "And you have an odd taste for nicknames." Yao was now regretting putting the boy in the room.

Ivan chortled as he sat. "Kesesese, your brother is quite impressive, Yao-Yao." "I beg your pardon. He just had a bad day. His..um..goldfish died." That was a stupid excuse and also a lie. His brother stared at him. "What's this about gold..Hey!" Yao firmly stepped on the boy's boot, mouthing shut up. Ha Eung got it as he became quiet.

"So I see, Mr. Bradinski, what are you interested in?" "Your car products are good. Your computers are fine as well. Your phones are sublime. I wish to take a look at all three, and on doing so, take a good look at _you_ on the way." Ivan spoke smoothly, and Yao resisted the urge to yell at him.

" _Hyungnim_ , I recall you saying something about meeting with a Miss Lee?" Ha Eung spoke from his corner. "What was that?" Ivan glared at the teenager, who was sending texts. "Ha Eung.." But the boy went on. "Yes, you're meeting her right after, weren't you?" Playing along wouldn't be bad. "Ah, yes."

"Who is this _Miss Lee?_ " Ivan's voice was deadly. "My sister." "Oh." Now Ivan sounded a bit ashamed. Of course. "I did not know about Yao-Yao's sister." "Could we get along and finish this bargain?" "Of course." Yao gave his brother a small smile. _Good job, little brother._ He felt like flying. Ivan, in his embarrassment wouldn't harrass him. At least, for _now._

It had been an hour after the arrival of their guests. Overall, Yao thought _this_ was the best meeting with Ivan as pulled out a couple of his files to show. "Here are the files about deep-learning." Ivan stared at them and began to chuckle. "Yao-yao, but these are _not_ what I expected." He showed Yao the files.

 _Oh, no._ Yao cursed in Chinese. These weren't about work _at all._ They were about..."But you look cute." Ivan commented. "What _are_ you looking at?" It was Ha Eung, and the tall boy peered over Yao's shoulder. "Hyungnim!" And Ha Eung groaned.

It was a picture of Yao, sleeping on the couch. And there were more. More Yao pictures than thought possible. "Whose file is this?" "I must have taken the wrong file by mistake. It was in my cabinet..and..." The only other person who was allowed to use his cabinet. His sister.

"Please don't tell me it was Yeon." Both brothers groaned. "Well, I should ask the file owner-this Yeon girl for more pictures, _Da_?" Ivan was smiling like he just won the lottery when there was shouting from outside. "Seriously! I _am_ the Chief's family, just wait and _see_!"

The door swung open to reveal the owner of the file, red-cheeked and smiling. "Oppa!!! I _really_ wanted to come! Sorry!" The smile started to evaporate as she stared at the picture that Yao was holding.

"Um...That was.." "You are Yao's little sister?" Ivan gave her a look. "Yes." Ha Yeon seemed not to take any notice of the Russian or of the girls next to him. "Oppa, I...I just wanted to take some pictures, _please_ don't get mad at me!"

Yao took the file and handed it to his sister. "The next time you want a picture, ask for permission. _Don't_ behave like a crazy stalker." His sister nodded and sat, looking embarrassed as she buried her face in her hands.

"Well, Yao-yao, your little sister is quite..." "Quite?" "красивый(Beautiful). In her own way. " Ivan smiled, showing his pearly white teeth. Yao, knowing the meaning of the word, glowered at the mafia. It was bad enough that the man was interested in _him_. It was _horrible_ that Ivan was showing interest in his sister, even if it was small.

"Oppa, what did he say?" Ha Yeon gave him a questioning glance. "Nothing important." Yao spoke. Unfortunately for him, he had forgotten that his brother had taken a course in Russian.

"That _disgusting_ pedophile! I'll gut you!" Ha Eung was out of his seat. "하응아(Ha Eung), calm down." His twin was trying to reason with him. "Don't worry, маленький мальчик(little boy). I am _quite_ faithful to my Yao." Ivan seemed interested in the boy's reaction as he laughed.

Although his sister didn't understand one bit of Russian, she knew what he had said about _his Yao_. Her eyes turned fierce. "Oppa, is this man your boyfriend?" "No." "Then tell him to leave you off." "I _have._ " Ha Yeon gave Ivan a dirty look, as if he were a dead rat, then pulled out her phone, texting someone.

Yao clapped his hand on his face as he handed Ivan the file on his cars. Ivan nodded as he saw all of the pictures on the catalogs. "Well made." "Do you want a specific car? One made for your driving?" It was customary. "No, I would like to drive _you._ " The answer wasn't expected and Yao started to cough.

"Older brother!" It was the Natalia girl. "Natalia, что это(what is it)?" The mafia just glanced at his sister as if what he said was normal. "You don't say things like that!" "And why so?" "It's rude." The girl lowered her head instinctively. She wasn't one to correct her brother, the fool in love.

"Ты дурак(You're a fool)." It was from Ha Eung, who was staring at the floor. "Ha Eung!" But Natalia was staring at the Korean. "Он не будет любить тебя обратно(He won't love you back)." His brother stood, gave the Russian a nod and left the room. Silence insued.

"You. Leave my brother alone." It was his reckless sister. Hot headed, short tempered, passionate, and so loyal. So _fiercely_ loyal. "Stop bothering Yao oppa, and stop talking like that." One of Ivan's eyebrows rose. "And why?" "Because I will _kill_ you."

Yao groaned. He appreciated his sister's loyalty, but _this_ was a man of the mafia. This was different. "No, you won't kill anyone." It was another voice. "KIKU?"

Yes, his younger brother was here, arms crossed. "Hey, Yao _ni-san._ You should have told me about this man." Kiku smiled at Yao. It was a creepy smile, and Ha Yeon's face darkened. They had seen that smile a lot of times, a few years ago.

"Hello, _who_ are you?" "I'm Kiku Honda. I, unfortunately am not as cute as my sisters or polite as my brother." It was very sudden. Kiku's hand had been undetected, but now he was practically pointing a carving knife at Ivan. "Leave. My. Brother. Alone. If you know my brother well enough you'll know that he has _two_ crazy brothers not one." It was his _otaku_ voice that he used when Leon had stolen his comics, and it was not a good sign.

"Fine." Ivan stood, pushing Kiku's arm away. He turned towards the door as his sisters followed, and stopped. "Yao, you know me, don't you?" _W_ _hat_ was he supposed to say to that? "Yes." "Then you will also know well enough that although your family is adorable, I wasn't hoping for a family introduction-when I am _still_ not your boyfriend." "YOU!" Ivan smirked and left.

"Did you have to call Kiku?" It was dinnertime. "Yes." His sister sat next to him, ladling food into her mouth, whilst Mei was laughing about the whole incident as Kiku retold his version which consisted of a CEO in need of a rescue and a _stalker dragon_. "He goes crazy when people mess with things he care for." Ha Yeon added, as she put a piece of kimchi on his rice.

"Thank you." His siblings knew he wasn't talking about the kimchi. "We were just doing what siblings should do." Kiku answered proudly. "You raised us. You helped us when we needed it. It's time we repaid." It was Ha Eung. For some reason the boy looked grim. "It was _nothing_!" Ha Yeon smiled. "We will _always_ stand by you, no matter how you yell at us or tell us to eat veggies." That was from Leon. "So you can trust in us to help you when things aren't working out." Mei smiled at him, and Yao felt something stirring. Ah, how he loved his siblings.

" 我爱你(I love you)." "나도(Me too.)" " 私も(Me as well)." It was too embarrassing for his siblings to say _I love you_ to him in a language they all knew, it seemed.

Yao gave them a smile, and then _whacked_ Ha Yeon on her head. "Hey!" " _Don't ever act like that again._ He could have hurt you." She nodded, muttering about _ungratefulness._

"And Kiku, _stop acting like your brother._ You _are not_ a character in one of that comics you read." "I did not act like Ha Eung!" Kiku retorted, but fell silent when Yao gave him a look. "I mean, _what_ was I supposed to do when Ha Yeon said you were with a pervert?" "Next time, hire an assassin." " _You're_ the psycho." Mei winked at him.

It had been a happy dinner, that is until a reporter called him about _Ivan Bradinski._ The next morning, the house received a piece of newspaper- _Wang Yao's Crazy Siblings Ruin his Date_. "That was _not_ a date!" Yao shouted. "And _why_ does Kiku sound like a crazy person?!!" It was Ha Yeon for once. " _What's_ with the _tragic love_?" Kiku snorted. Ah, how fast words traveled. _And how wrong they were._ Another day of gossip about Asia Corp.

Another beginning of a bad day for Yao.

 _Wang Yao/China/30/CEO of Asia Corp_

 _Kiku Honda/Japan/18/Student_

 _Wang Mei/Taiwan/17/Student_

 _Lee Ha Eung/North Korea/17/Student_

 _Lee Ha Yeon/South Korea/17/Student_

 _Wang Leon/Hong Kong/16/Student_

 _Ivan Bradinski/Russia/29/Mafia_

 _Natalia Bradinski/Belarus/17/Student_

 _Yekaterina Bradinski/Ukraine/17/Student_

 **So I'm back! And I wrote about Yao and his stalker-and it sounds _stupid_ and I think Russia lovers and Russia's gonna hate me! I'm sorry, I even took a week off or something and this stinks. Next chapter's going to be about Mei-and about her big shopping adventure(feat. Yeon).**


	10. In Which Mei has a Girl's Day Off

Mei Wang was _not_ a jock nor a cool kid. She was one of these people you call a _wallflower._ She was sweet Mei, trustable Mei, Mei who cared for others, Mei who was respectable. Sure, she _could_ act like her sister Ha Yeon and get herself drunk. Yes, she could be manga-crazy like her brother Kiku. Of course, she had potential to go psycho like Ha Eung. But Mei was many things, and she didn't have it in her to act like her siblings.

And _that_ was why she was not enjoying her day off. It was a day off for all of her family. Yao had gone to what, _gi_ class? Kiku had left to a comic festival. Ha Eung was watching TV. Leon had left to Emil's. Which had left her with- "Oh. My. God. We are totally buying this." Mei groaned as she stared at the zeros. "Do we _have_ to?" "Of course!"

Her crazy sister, Yeon Lee was practically squealing over-what, _software_? It was expected of the Korean to be a shopaholic, to shop like crazy over shoes, clothes, accessories, makeup. It was _unexpected_ of the girl to be a software geek. But then, the twins were talented in IT. Mei lifted the program thing. It cost like, a _fortune_? Ha Yeon was an empty headed fool when it came to shopping.

"Let's _not_ buy this." Bad mistake. "Then _what_ are we going to buy?" Her sister turned on her. She didn't want to hear about _Samsung_ , _Xiaomi_ , _Apple_ and _LG_. "Fine, have it your way." "만세!(Mansae)" Ha Yeon skipped about, pulling out the credit card and running to the register.

Mei's cell phone beeped.

 _How's it going with the shopping trip?_

 _-Kiku-_

Oh, god, it was Kiku.

 _Horrible._

She thought better of it, and erased the word.

 _I really wish that someone else has to go next time._

Kiku would be smiling at the other end. This was his kind of joke. Mei grinned at the thought of her brother, then the grin slowly disappeared. It was _wrong._ What she was thinking of was _foolish._ He was her brother. _Not by blood._ A voice nagged in her head, but her conscience scoffed at her. _He does not love you. Remember Hercules?_ It was her sister's loud voice that cut through her thoughts.

" _What_ are you wearing?" That wasn't a very nice way to speak. "Clothes." Her retort was sharp, and Ha Yeon studied her. "Well, you could do better than that." "What's wrong with my clothes?" " _Everything._ " And with that, the Korean pulled her along the racks of clothes.

"Check _this_ out! Vera Wang!" "Um, that's a dress. I am _never_ going to need..." "Whatever." The fashionista moved through, pulling out striped shirts, frilly blouses, tennis skirts, ripped jeans and so on. "What's wrong with what I'm wearing, Yeon?" The girl sighed at her. "Can't you see? You wear the _same_ things you wore. When you _were_ a middle schooler." "What's your problem with collared shirts?" "You wear them. All the time. Like, _forever._ " Ha Yeon handed her a shirt and a skirt. "Try this on, and see if you still hate shopping."

She would always detest shopping. It was better to spend her time reading a good romance novel or watching a drama. Shopping was...shopping. It was annoying having people say stuff like _you're so pretty in this_ , _why don't you buy that_ when they didn't mean it. Still, she knew that Ha Yeon would kill her if she didn't put the clothes on. Mumbling, she went inside the changing room and started to undress.

Her sister stood there, waiting for her and clacking her heels in an irritated fashion. It was a habit that she had when she was bored, but she didn't look bored anymore. "Well?" "See for yourself." Mei stared at the mirror.

A girl was standing there, a girl wearing sneakers. She had a frilly blouse with a flower on it, and the neckline plunged. The skirt was short, coming higher than her knees and in black. She had an uncertain look on her face. This girl didn't look like a shy one, nor a wallflower. She looked more like the confident one standing next to her.

"So, are you still going to detest shopping?" She could say yes. "No." The answer was unprepared. "You see, you're really pretty, but you hide all your beauty. It's cooped up-yes, it's _somewhere_ , but well..." Her sister seemed proud as she pulled out more clothes. Mei knew it was best to let her sister take over. For that point, she would be Ha Yeon's personal Barbie. It would make things easier than protesting.

The clothes business went on and on. Mei gulped as she checked the bags that started piling up at her feet. "Yao's going to be..." "Yao will _always_ be Yao." Ha Yeon said as she pulled out a pair of high heels. "Here, try these on. I think these should fit." She hadn't spent so much money, and the bills were...well...

Mei wobbled in her heels. It wasn't like it was the first time, it was just the fact that they were eight centimeters high. "Any ideas on how to make this more comfortable?" "Powerwalk." Ha Yeon spoke, her hands loaded with shopping bags. Mei was actually enjoying this when she heard voices.

"Yeon!" Alfred F. Jones stood there with his basketball. There was his brother, Matthew, and his cousin Arthur. "Hi!" Her cousin _chirped_. What was wrong with _her_? Mei gave Yeon a look. Alfred didn't seem to notice. "Hey, so you've come shopping?" "Yes!" Mei gave Alfred the evil eye. _Stop talking with her, so that I can sit down!_ The jock turned on her. "Um, hi. I'm Alfred Jones." The boy seemed a bit shy, or was it her imagination? "It's Mei, you _idiot_." "Oh. Sorry." Alfred shrugged. "You should go shopping more often." And with that he waved and left with his family.

"Yeon-ah?"

Her sister was staring at the ground. "Yeon?" She didn't answer. "난 왜 남 좋을 행동만 하는 걸까.( _Why_ am I doing things that are good for _other people_.)" Ha Yeon's Korean was something she couldn't understand, but it wasn't anything good-judging by her expression.

" _What_ am I doing, we're on a shopping trip and we are not shopping! We were supposed to have a blast!" Ha Yeon smiled, then took her hand. "Come on, we are going to the salon!" "Are you sure?" "Yes." And with that, Mei was dragged to the hair salon.

"You would look pretty with a perm." The stylist remarked to her, but Mei shook her head. "Only a haircut, please." Kiku had said she looked her best when her hair was straight. "Come on, _get_ a permanent." Ha Yeon looked exasperated. "What about _you_? I don't see you getting a perm." " _I_ , sister, have already decided on a C-curl." Gods, she hated her sister. "Fine. Do whatever you have to." The stylist smiled. "Of course."

While the irons were heating, Mei looked at the cover of a magazine she was planning to read. _Stealth Interview with Wang Yao_ was written in big block letters. "You're proud of him, too." Ha Yeon's voice sounded from somewhere. "Yes. Of course." "I was _always_ proud of him. He took me to the baseball park, the fancy parties, almost everywhere." Again. She knew about all of this, because she and Kiku had been left out on all of these occasions.

 _Why can't we go to baseball games? We'll try to like it._

 _Can't they stay behind for once? We want to meet important people._

 _Why are they always with you?_

 _Do you even love us more than them?_

"But I always wanted to have fun with my sister." Mei looked at the other girl, who was smiling. _Excuse me_? "Well, you can't take Yao shopping with you. He'll talk about economics, and that's _boring_." Through her harsh words, Mei got it.

The salon visit was over, and the girls were walking back home, Yeon swinging her bags, Mei humming softly under her breath. As they arrived at the house, the door opened and Yao stood to greet them.

"Looks like _one_ Ha Yeon isn't enough." Yao spoke grimly, but he was smiling as he took their possessions. "Did you have a good time?" "Yes." "Yes." They spoke in unison, while the TV blared in the room. "Ha Eung Lee!" Yeon screamed as her twin emerged. "What?" " _How dare you_ watch _Red Cliff_ without me?" "Tough luck, sis." Ha Eung smirked as he ate his potato chips. "The American called. Wanted to know about _when_ _the hell_ you came back." Ha Yeon ignored him as she ran to her room. They all heard her door slam.

"Well, the _frugal_ , _sweet_ Mei is wearing something my _bitchy, naughty_ sister wears." Mei flinched at Ha Eung's words, but his face was surprisingly soft. "It doesn't matter, you're always going to be sweet Mei." And the boy returned to his seat to the TV.

"Wow." Leon stood there, looking amused. "What." "This is something that not even Mother Nature can explain." "Stop it. Do you want me to sell your books again?" "Calm down." The boy grinned, and handed her a glass of water. "Thanks." But Leon was already gone. Sweet Mei was alone again.

"Hey, you shouldn't sleep here." Mei lifted her head. _When did I fall asleep?_ Kiku was standing over her, a concerned expression on his face. "Kiku!" She couldn't help smiling. "Well, it seems your shopping trip wasn't _that_ bad." Kiku laughed as he set down his bags-overloaded with comics. "Yes, we went to buy shoes and clothes and.." "Calm down."

Kiku frowned. "Mei, did you _cut your hair_?" Mei nodded. Her brother sighed and her heart seemed to plummet. "I...I'm sorry." "No, it's nothing to be sorry about." Kiku spoke gently. "Do I look ugly?" "No, it's just that I couldn't recognize you for a second."

Her brother sat down on the other side of the table, eyes downcast. "I'm _really_ sorry! I knew you liked my hair, but the stylist and Yeon kept on insisting-" Kiku cut her off, and she could see he was laughing. "Well, you still look pretty. Don't worry too much. I like your hair just fine."

 _Whew._ Kiku stood suddenly. "Well, I must retire to bed." "Really?" "Yes. Feliciano and Ludwig and- well, they're going to go downtown tomorrow." She had the feeling that Kiku wasn't finished. "Anyone else?" "Well.."Her brother was turning red. " _Anyone_ else?" He sighed, looking resigned. "Hercules." _Hercules._ _Always Hercules._

"Oh." "Why do you look so glum? Wish me luck! I mean, you know I liked him for like, forever." Mei managed to smile until she walked into her room. There, her facade broke, and she curled up in a ball, crying softly.

Yes, she had changed her hairstyle, her clothes, but she would always be _sweet Mei_ to Kiku. Nothing more than a sister. She would see him falling in love with someone, see him marry later, see him having children. And she would never be _his._

The door opened. Yeon stood there, looking bewildered, then comprehension seemed to hit her. Her sister left, and for a split second she wanted to stop her. But then she had to bemoan her loss. _Why am I bemoaning the loss of what I have never owned?_

She would gladly change her place as sweet, beloved Mei if she didn't have to feel this gap.

 **Name/Age/Country/Job**

Yao Wang/30/China/CEO of Asia Corp.

Kiku Honda/18/Japan/S

Mei Wang/17/Taiwan/S

Ha-Yeon Lee/17/South Korea/S

Ha-Eung Lee/17/North Korea/S

Alfred F. Jones/17/America/S

Leon Wang/16/Hong Kong/S

 **Wow. Long Hiatus. Forgive me. School life hasn't been pleasant and I didn't get what I wanted to write for the Mei chapter. I think Writer's Block is happening to me. Yes, I am suffering. No, I am not giving up on this fanfiction. It will be finished when-well, maybe when Taiwan/SK/NK go to college. I can't promise anything, but I can promise you that the next chapter will be more cheerful, and that I'll inform you guys when this is about to be finished.** **So, thanks to all of you who are following this. I appreciate comments and feedback along with good ideas.** **See you soon.**

 **수화 올림**


	11. In Which Yeon is Ill

**Author's Note:** Hello, people! It's been a while, since school began, and I really needed to write fluff so I wrote fluff. Horray for fluff!The next thing I will possibly write will also be fluff, either Grepan or HongIce or family stuff related to the Asians and their anime addict thing or something like that. Or it could be NKBel. I have no idea what my crazy fingers will write. Since I myself caught a cold, I decided that _I_ wasn't going to be the only being who suffered from this epidemic. Sorry, Yeon, but you just happened to be the person I was writing about. Okay, enjoy!

Wang Yao/China/30/CEO of Asia Corp

Kiku Honda/Japan/18/Student(High)

Wang Mei/Taiwan/17/Student(High)

Lee Ha Yeon/South Korea/17/Student(High)

Lee Ha Eung/North Korea/17/Student(High)

Wang Leon/Hong Kong/16/Student(High)

Alfred F. Jones/America/17/Student(High)

Matthew Jones/Canada/17/Student(High)

Gilbert Beilschmidt/Prussia/17/Student(High)

Yekaterina Bradinski/Ukraine/17/Student(High)

Elizaveta Heatherberry/Hungary/17/Student(High)

Natalia Bradinski/Belarus/17/Student(High)

Roderich Edelstein/Austria/17/Student(High)

Arthur Kirkland/England/24/Law School Student(Univ)

Francis Bonnefoy/France/23/Model

Shipping: **Kimchiburger/One sided RuChi/HungaryxAustria**

* * *

A fucking cold. Today out of all days. Yao popped the thermometer out of Ha Yeon's mouth. "Cold." The CEO dismissed it. "I am _not_ sick!" Ha Yeon jumped up from her seat at the table, _trying_ to prove that she was healthy. "Monday left me broken, tuesday, I was filled with hope and...Achoo!" A coughing fit cut off her song.

"Wednesday, my empty arms were open, thursday, waiting for love, waiting for love~ What?" Ha Eung, who had been silently singing along lifted his head from his cereal. "You haven't sung in a while." Yao spoke, a bit choked. "I bet it's a girl." Mei smiled at him. "Is it Bradinski? I heard her brother's evil."

Another series of coughing stopped the siblings from discussing Ha Eung's love life. "I don't think you can go to school today." "But I have to play with Alfred!" _So immature._ Yao face-palmed and sat his sister back in her chair. "You are having a rest today." "You're _노잼(no fun in Korean slang, pronounced nojam)_!" Kiku watched as his sister was marched to her room by Yao. "What a baby." "I know." Leon stood from his chair.

Alfred stopped his car next to the sidewalk of the Wang Estate. Gods, how much he loved his car. It was a shiny, red Porsche. He honked his horn two times. _That_ was funny. Yeon was always out there waiting for him. He honked his horn three more times. HONK! HONK! HOOOONK!

Movement from the house caught his eye, and Yao emerged, looking distressed. "She can't go to school. She has a cold." "A _cold_?" Alfred was in disbelief. Yao could be lying. "Yes, so stop honking your horn. She needs some sleep." It seemed too late as they could hear heels running down the stairs.

"Oppa, who the hell is honking that blasted horn?" First her voice, then Ha Yeon came bounding out onto the front door. She looked less like her bubbly, bouncy self. More like dreary, or moody. "Yao said you were sick." At this the Chinese CEO glared at him. "Whoops-my bad. Mr. Wang." "I am so not sick!" The Korean girl did a pirouette on the spot, then stumbled, coughing violently. Come to think of it, her voice was more raspy than it usually was.

"Maybe you _should_ go to bed." "No! I _want_ to go to school! I need to go to cheer practice! I have to gossip with Eliza and Yekaterina! _And_ I have to study!" Yao and Alfred both sighed. "I'll fill you in about homework later, so stop hollering. You'll lose your voice at this rate, dude."

"I am not a-" Yao nodded at his words, and smiled at Yeon. "See? Even Alfred thinks you need to rest." "Yeah, you need to rest." Yao half-dragged his sister away, and turned. " _Xie-xie_." Alfred got the point. As he began to drive, _Despacito_ blared from the speakers. Then _See You Again._ Then " _Oppa's Gangnam Style!"_ The jock sighed. Too bad for Yeon that she missed her favorite song. Entering the classroom ten minutes later, he sat in his chair, absent-minded. Matthew put his bag next to Alfred's seat, a curious look on his face. "Yeon-" "Sick." Matthew looked glum as he felt, for some reason. Alfred gave his twin a glance. _He looks like the world just ended. Why is he so unhappy?_ But then they were friends as well. "Hey, Al! Where's _sweetheart_?" Gilbert put an arm on his shoulder. "Sick." "Hey, girls, looks like there's no cheer practice today! Ha Yeon Lee's sick." Elizaveta sighed. "She possibly overworked." Yekaterina was teary already. "Oh, no. H..How horrible..." Natalia crossed her arms. "So what?" "So, you don't have to practice." The girls ignored Gilbert pointedly. "Why is she always ignoring me?" Gilbert whispered to Alfred, gazing at Elizaveta. "Because of him." Alfred thrusted his chin in the direction of Roderich. "I hate him." "Whatever." Alfred had more urgent matters to deal with, such as _listening to class._

Ha Yeon was sitting on her bed, eating kimchi with ramen. She had been resting in bed for about five hours, and she was bored. She was watching reruns of Game of Thrones, tissues surrounding her. On the screen, Viserion, the dragon was flying around. Then, "I'm home!" It was _Yao_. "Yao?" Moments later, her oldest brother appeared at her door, holding a bunch of medicine. Yao glared at the TV screen. "You shouldn't watch violent stuff like this. It could disturb your _chi_." "Says the person who watched _Old Boy_ when his parents were out." Yao sighed. "I shouldn't have told you about _that_." Her older brother handed her a packet of medicine. "Ew, do I have to eat this?" "Do you want to stay at home with a burning fever?" Ha Yeon stared at her oriental medicine along with her pills and syrup. "What if this doesn't go along well together?" She hated bitter stuff, and the cough syrup was disgusting. "It won't. It worked on Kiku." _I hate my life._ She took the syrup without complaint, making faces all the time. "This tastes like shit." "Who taught you the s-word?" Yao thought about his sister's _politeness_. "You said that over the phone, that Ivan Bradinski was a piece of shit." Yao made a mental note to make his calls outside the house. As he left the room, Ha Yeon returned to her TV. Yao heard screaming approximately five seconds later. "NOOOO!" "Yeon, what is it?" His sister was hysteric. "Viserion!" He made another mental note- no more Game of Thrones in this house.

It was six when Alfred arrived at the Wang Estate. "I brought Ha Yeon her notes and stuff." "Can you go and give it to her?" Yao looked pissed out for some reason. "What?" "I'm not in the mood to give it to her." Today seemed to be a rollercoaster day. Alfred made his way upstairs, and knocked on Yeon's door. "C...come in..." She was _crying_? Alfred made his way in, and noticed the sea of tissues. "What's wrong?" "Benjen...Benjen.." Alfred cursed his stupidity. It had been _him_ who recommended the stupid show to Yeon, and now she was basically an addict, crying whenever a character died or met a gory fate. "People always die in that stupid show." He received a hit for that comment. "I didn't want Ben to die!" "Yeah, you _love_ the Starks. Is it the loyalty thing from Korea?" "Of course." "Well, if you love loyal people, perhaps you'll give me a credit for my loyalty to you." He pulled out his notes from his bag while a startled Yeon watched.

"I cannot believe you didn't sleep in class for once." "Well, there are times when I pay attention in class, and I promised you." Yeon looked impressed, that is until she opened his notebook. "Al, I'm really sorry, but is this Au or Ag?" "Au." She frowned, flipping through the book. "Al, did you exclude something from World History?" "No, why?" Okay, he had nodded off for about twenty minutes. But seriously, she couldn't have found out."You started from the War of the Roses, and you didn't finish that piece of note-taking." "The teacher said it wasn't important!" Ha Yeon had tiny creasemarks on her forehead as she passed over World History, and looked at his Algebra notes. "Um, I think I'll ask Ha Eung about the rest of the notes." "Why?" He was just curious. "Well, you took Spanish while I took Chinese. And...never mind." She managed a laugh, which ended in a cough.

"Did you take your medicine?" "Yes." "Did you take your temperature?" "Yes." "Did you have a rest?" "Yes." "Did you-" "Excuse me, Officer Jones, is this an interrogation?" Ha Yeon couldn't help laughing. "No, I was just worried, that's all." "That's sweet of you." "I am, after all, your most loyal subject, your Highness." He took a mocking tone. "If you are impersonating Tyrion Lannister, you aren't doing a good job, my Lord." "Actually, it was Sir Jorah." Alfred smirked at her, and her heart caught on a beat. She smacked him on the back of the head, trying to clear her head. "What was _that_ for?" "You. Back at the mall, the other day, you complimented Mei." "Jealous, sweetling?" "Shut up!" They were both laughing when Ha Eung opened the door. "Shut up! You're too loud!" "Yeah, whatever." Her twin _whammed_ the door shut, but before leaving, he shouted. "The War of the Roses is in the World History Test!" There was a silence between the Korean and the American. "Yeah, I'm sorry. I slept during World History." Alfred was turning the color of red. "It doesn't matter, it's not like you didn't try." She patted Alfred on the shoulder, and the tall boy grinned. "Thanks for being so generous, Lady Lee." "Yes, I am in a generous mood, Sir Jones. Now go and tell my brother, Lord Wang that I desire dinner." Alfred stood, and muttered something under his breath. "I didn't hear you, Sir!" "The things I do for-" The door opened before the boy finished the sentence and Kiku walked in.

"Ha Yeon, dinner's ready." "Okay. Let's go downstairs." "What, me too?" Ha Yeon gave Al a look. He was so _slow_ in things like this. Yao raised an eyebrow as he saw Alfred drawing out a chair, but didn't say anything. They ate dinner while Mei talked about her horrible teacher who made everyone write an essay on _how_ great he was. "Well, he sounds weird." "That's for punishment." "The worst punishment anyone could dish out." "Perhaps I should make a punishment for you children." Yao mused. "What punishment?" "Everytime you use slang. I'll ask Ivan to take you in for a week." "No thanks." Ha Yeon spoke, and Kiku shuddered at the prospect. "Well, if you make that as punishment, Yeon would have to _live_ there." Alfred commented, and earned a kick under the table. Yao _smiled_ for once. "Good joke, kid. I bet Kirkland didn't teach you how to joke." "He didn't." Overall, the dinner worked out fine compared to the other times Alfred had eaten there. He grinned at his good luck.

After dinner, Alfred picked up his bag. "I believe I've overstayed my welcome." Yao liked politeness, so perhaps..."Well, boy, you're proving that children grow up." Yao looked pleased. Alfred silently thanked Francis for tipping him off the other day about Yao and politeness. "You're leaving so soon?" Ha Yeon looked disappointed. "Well, you need some rest, if you don't rest, you can't come to school tomorrow." Yao actually seemed impressed, nodding at him as he left for the kitchens.

Alfred was at the door, when Yeon ran up to him. "You forgot this." And with that soft lips touched his cheek. He could swear he was turning red. The girl stared up at him, eyes playful and soft. "What..." "You didn't like it, Sir?" Was she teasing him or something? Alfred didn't even have time to consider. "WHAT IS GOING ON IN HERE?" A very horrified Yao, who looked ready to faint, along with a furious Ha Eung, glaring at him. "Oh. My. God." Kiku was having a minor nosebleed on the spot. "Wow, never knew that was going to happen." Leon was grinning, doing a thumbs up. "Cheese!" Mei actually pulled out her cell phone-"No, Mei, don't-"-and snapped a picture of them. Ha Eung was the first person to regain his senses. "GET OUT, YOU BURGER ADDICT!" And so, Alfred was forced to flee from the household.

"I heard Al got banned from the Wang Estate for a whole month. How the hell did that happen?" Roderich asked Elizaveta as they were having lunch a few days later. "Here." Elizaveta passed him her cell phone. Roderich was speechless as he stared at the picture of the pretty Asian standing next to the flushed American, who actually looked a bit shy. "Is that _lipgloss_ on his cheek?" "Don't they look adorable?" Elizaveta smiled. "Where's Al, by the way?" "Home. He's sick. Seems like lover boy caught the epidemic from his girl."

Meanwhile, there was chaos in the Kirkland Mansion. "And you don't know where he got it from?" "Of course! None of the boys had it. He can't suddenly acquire a cold." Arthur buried his head in his hands. Francis smiled knowingly. "I heard _Mademoiselle_ Yeon had the flu." "Well, Yao didn't send Yeon to school from what I heard. And even if Al ate dinner there, he can't just get sick! It's not like they _held hands_ or _kissed_!" "Can you stop talking? My head hurts." Alfred groaned from over his bed. "Are you all right? You got even redder!" Arthur looked shocked. "Ah, _amour._ " Francis just chuckled.

* * *

South Korea's records of watching Game of Thrones is getting higher by each episode, and the author is a personal fan of the show!

Plus Koreans love loyal, ethical people, and it seemed to make sense that Yeon would like the loyal Starks.

Au is Aurum, that is gold, while Ag is silver. It's a science thing.


	12. In Which The Kids Dance Off

**Author's Note: If you do not like fluff, or plot-twists, or dancing, or the pairings that I have written, I urge you to come back later in the next episode where there are no couplings or dancing.**

Kiku Honda/Japan/18/Student

Ha Yeon Lee/South Korea/17/Student

Alfred F. Jones/America/17/Student

Vash Zwingli/Swiss/18/Student

Feliciano Vargas/North Italy/18/Student

Ludwig Beilschmidt/Germany/18/Student

Toris Laurinaitis/Lithuania/18/Student

Hercules Karpusi/Greece/18/Student

Lovino Vargas/South Italy/17/Student

Ha Eung Lee/North Korea/17/Student

Gilbert Beilschmidt/Prussia/17/Student

Yao Wang/China/30/CEO of Asia Corp

Leon Wang/Hong Kong/16/Student

Mei Wang/Taiwan/17/Student

Elizaveta Heatherberry/Hungary/17/Student

Matthew /Canada/17/Student

Antonio Fernandez Carriedo/17/Student

Natalia Bradinski/Belarus/17/Student

Roderich Edelstein/Austria/17/Student

* * *

His sister was _shameless_. Kiku knew that for quite the time, but she really was shameless. Rumors about her and Alfred spread like wildfire. A simple peck on the cheek had been changed to a deep kiss, and then to more intimacy, and then into R-18 nonsense. "Aren't you bothered by that?" "What, everybody saying that I'm a total flirt?" His sister tossed her hair carelessly. "It's not like I ever cared." Yes, she wasn't one about reputation. "Don't you care about reputation?" "No." What a great answer. Kiku had a problem, quite a serious one, unlike his sister. "I have a problem." "So?" "Never mind." He dismissed it. Ha Yeon Lee wasn't worthy enough to talk about this.

"So, what are we going to do?" Kiku's classmates had been gathered around the classroom, and Kiku, as a member of the student council and a representative of the class was forced to explain. "We need to pick someone." This was all about the upcoming festival. Their school had many festivals, and this festival was one of the biggest, excepting Christmas, Valentine's Day, and Halloween. Yes, it was the sports festival. Sixteen-year-olds, eighteen-year-olds were making team Red. The seventeen year-olds along with the nineteen-year-olds were team Blue. And the person they were going to pick in the third year-"We have to pick _cute_ people for this." "How can we pick _cute_ people? And _three_? They have got to be joking." It was the seventeen-year-olds versus eighteen-year-olds, in a dancing match. They had to put up _two_ programs, one with the same song, and one with a different song. The same song happened to be something that _seven year olds_ danced to.

"Simple. Let's just pick the _three cutest_ people in our class!" Vash smiled, and handed out pieces of paper. And that was the reason of misery. He hadn't minded at all when Feliciano had been chosen as first. "Feli!" Ludwig had groaned. "What? Come on, join me! I love being acknowledged!" It turned out Ludwig didn't have to volunteer at all, as he was picked as second. God knew _why_ , Ludwig grumbled, but at least he was together with Feliciano. And then-"Kiku Honda." "Excuse me?" Kiku glared at Vash. "You are chosen as third cutest. Congrats." "No, I refuse to believe this." "Well, you have to." Vash showed him the votes. It had been close, him only being one vote ahead of Toris. "Well, I'm not-" "You had better." "I can't wait, Kiku's going to be so cute!"

It was awful. He had a public image to uphold. He wasn't like Ha Yeon or Feliciano. He was the quiet, cool kid. He couldn't dance to something stupid like-his cell phone glowed. _I heard that you got picked to dance Caramelldansen._ Yes, he was going to dance Caramelldansen with his two friends. He, Kiku Honda. Dance. Making stupid movements in front of the entire school. And now his crush knew. He had hoped Hercules would find out later. _I was unlucky._ His reply was bitter. It was just then that the door opened. Ha Eung was there, his face was red, and he seemed very angry. "How dare they-I'm going to kill them-I'm going to launch a missile at them-" Ha Yeon shushed her twin brother, taking him upstairs. He could hear muffled whispers. Well, whatever Ha Eung's problem was, it couldn't be worse than his. _I can't wait until the sports event day._ What Hercules sent him was quite shocking, but it wasn't really helpful. The hot Greek had been picked to dance for the different song, the _cool_ song. Why couldn't he be dancing for the cool thing?

"Hey, how's practice going?" " _Practice?_ " He snarled the word over the phone, as Feliciano's voice chirped over the line. "I didn't even get to _choose_." "Too bad that you're cute, Kiku." Feliciano was laughing at him. "Anyway, I believe we can bash the seventeen-year-olds this year." "Why?" "I just found out who's dancing Caramelldansen in that class." "Who?" "Gilbert." _Now_ Kiku was laughing. " _The Awesome Gilbert_ dance to that song?" "Yes." He had a mental image of Gilbert pretending to be cute, dancing to that chirpy thing they called music. "Anyone else?" "I _think_ Lovi's dancing, but he won't tell me." Of course, it made sense that Feliciano's younger brother might dance to that song. Even if he was cute, the boy wouldn't admit it, and the boy was grouchy. He was lucky that he was close to sweet Feliciano, not grumpy Lovino. "Great, maybe we won't have to practice." "Well, perhaps we have to." "Why?" "Your sister handed in the form for her class. Someone tipped me off that they saw her name on the sheet."

Kiku cursed as soon as he bid farewell to Feliciano. His sister was a good dancer, and if _she_ was dancing it was bad, really bad news for his class. He would have to practice, even if he didn't want to. Public image could go to hell, now. He was going to win. He took his phone to his room, and turned on the YouTube video for Caramelldansen. He cringed, seeing the cute figures dancing to the electronic-sounding, most stupid song of his life.

 _Vi undrar ar ni redo att vara med, kom igen._

Put your arms up and you will see, come here.

 _Vem som helst kan vara med!_

Anyone can join in!

 _Sa, ror pa erea fotter, oa-a-a, och vicka era hofter, o-la-la-la!_

Yes, move your feet, and shake your butt!

 _Gor som vi, till denna melodi!_

Do it like us, to the melody!

 _Dansa med oss, klappa era hander  
_

Danse with us, clap your hands!

 _Gor som vi gor, ta nagra steg at vanster!_

Do it like us, move your step left!

 _Lyssna och lar, missa inte chansen!_

Listen and learn, don't miss the chance!

 _Nu ar vi har med, Caramelldansen!_

We're in it together, the Caramel dance!

From downstairs, Yao sighed. "Ai-yah, what is wrong with these children?" He climbed upstairs to Kiku's room, and creaked the door open. Kiku was busy, dancing to electronic sounding music, following the cute figures, and singing like his life depended on it. " _Nu ar vi har med, Caramelldansen!_ " Yao studied the calandar on Kiku's wall and left without a word. He should have reconsidered sending the kids to the school, but no. He remembered only too well how he himself was forced to dance to Summer Night from Grease. There was a week left until the sports day event. He wondered how he was supposed to live in the house with two kids in the red team, and three in the blue, and called his assistant. "Hello? Yes, this is Wang Yao. Can you arrange for a seminar for this week? No, it's urgent. It's no use after next week. What? You can't? Oh, yes. It's not necessary for next week. Yes, it's too bad it can't be arranged."

Kiku sat down on the dinner table. "I heard music from your room." Leon casually commented. "Yes, it's for the team." "Little brother, Sports Day isn't everything." "I know." Kiku sighed, picking at his food. "So Mei, who's dancing in your class?" Kiku's question was casual, but Mei avoided the talk cleverly. "Well, Kiku, I thought you would have found out already." "I can't believe I'm supposed to dance to some _stupid_ song because they believe I'm cute." Kiku stabbed his dumpling, and Yao gave him a look. "Whatever. At least they picked _you_ because they thought you were cute." Ha Eung's voice was unusually sharp. "It's not like _you're_ dancing!" The Korean kicked him under the table, and Kiku kicked back. " Boys! You're behaving like children! Just because you dance to music for children doesn't mean you have to act like _children_. Go to your room!" "But-" Kiku protested, but Yao's look was firm. "I hate my life." Kiku stormed upstairs, unusual for him. From tomorrow, he wasn't practicing at home.

School was noisy the next day. "I heard Alfred's in Caramelldansen." Ludwig commented. They had been having a practice session during break. "How does their practice seem to work?" "Dunno, the cheerleaders are teaching them to dance, according to Gilbert. But, you know they're useless. Alfred's less flexible than a tree." Feliciano sighed. "So, Alfred, Gilbert, and Lovino are dancing for Caramelldansen. Anything else about the other dance?" "Dunno. They're pretty good at keeping their mouths shut." Ludwig gulped water from his jug, not caring that he was dripping with mixed sweat and water. "Why are we even talking? We should be practicing." Kiku stood up from his space on the floor. "Well, for someone so unenthusiastic, I never knew you cared." "I care about winning, not the dance." His friends smirked at each other. "What?" "Nothing. Just that you seem to like the song." "I do not!" It was just at that time that a phone rang. ' _Dansa med oss, klappa era hander-'_ "And you don't admit?" Kiku kept a straight face, turning off his phone to silent mode.

Ha Yeon sighed from her place at the boys. "We are _so_ doomed." She had returned from spying on the eighteen-year-olds. Kiku on the center, and the others flanking him. They were almost as good as the original. And here, they were stuttering over the beginning. "Why, oh, why, did I pick you guys?" "Because we were focusing more on the other dance." Alfred spoke, his face sweaty. "Guys, we have to win this year." Elizaveta sounded upset now. It was understandable, for they had been practicing for some while. "The awesome me can handle this stupid dance!" Gilbert spoke hotly. "And you're the worst." Matthew smiled from his seat. The real reason they had been picked was because _no one_ would believe that these _cool, macho_ boys were dancing the cute dance of Caramelldansen. She had guessed that the seniors had picked the cute ones of the class, and this had been their strategy.

"Guys, we need to pick three people for Caramelldansen!" "Well, count me out." Alfred had lazily turned away. "Not me." Gilbert had stood from his seat. "I'm out." Lovino had smirked. "Hey, I raised my hand first, I'm definitely leaving." As the kids had bickered, Ha Yeon had decided. "The three fastest people- you guys are dancing." "What?" "It's final." And how she regretted her choice. She didn't even have time to practice her own number, and they were real trouble. "Elizaveta, you give Gilbert a one-on-one lesson." "ME?" "Yes, you. He only listens to you." "Okay." Elizaveta half-dragged Gilbert off. "Al, Lovino, you're practicing with me." "What about-" "He's way better than you guys, and he's better than the seniors." Ha Yeon glared at them. "You go too easy on him." "Well, _look_ at yourselves." Lovino muttered under his breath about _Koreans and their brains made out of spaghetti._

Four days till the stupid sports day event, and for some reason, Yao could notice his brothers and sisters growing more and more agitated. Leon was understandable, the headmaster had asked the boy to look over the fireworks of that event, and Leon was honored because of that. Kiku was representing his entire year, and he had never danced to a cute song before in front of a lot of people. Ha Yeon was also representing her year, and from what he had overheard, her boys weren't exactly great dancers. Her partner had developed to _acceptable,_ and the kids who danced Caramelldansen in her year were being yelled at for being _one step late._ What he couldn't understand was how frustrated his other brother was. Ha Eung was turning sour. It wasn't because of lack of attention. He was spending a lot of time with his sister, which was good, but then he was always in his room now. Mei was his confidante for some reason, and Mei wouldn't tell him what was wrong with their psycho brother. "Tell me, what's wrong with Ha Eung?" "Nothing's wrong with him, he's acting normally-considering the situation.""You need to tell me, why is he so troubled?" "He...He..." Mei was at the point of telling him, when Ha Yeon had barged in. "You _promised_ not to tell anyone!" And so, Mei had left without telling him. Yao was getting worried at such secrecy from his siblings.

Three days to the D-day. Kiku looked at himself in the mirror. He was wearing his outfit, a black suit with a red bow tie. Ludwig had decided on a white suit along with Feliciano, which left him standing out in black. "We look great." Feliciano smiled, and Ludwig ruffled the hair of the smaller boy. "Come on, let's snap a picture." And before he could pose or anything, his friends pulled out their phones, and took a picture of him. "Wait! I wasn't composed.." "Kiku, we don't have to be composed for every damn picture we take together." Ludwig had already posted a picture of him of Facebook by the time he had recomposed himself. _Kiku, the main of our act. Beware, kids. We will bash you._ And underneath, _Hercules likes this picture._ It gave him some strength, to see his crush liked his picture.

"Hey, they posted something together." Alfred remarked. "So?" "Shouldn't we..." "We don't need to reveal our stuff." The door of the classroom opened, and Gilbert returned with Elizaveta. "Hey, Yeon, he can _finally_ dance to cute music without looking like a pervert." "Good. Let's try." The music of Caramelldansen blared on full volume. Alfred on the right, Gilbert on the left. Ha Yeon watched skeptically, with Elizaveta. Yes, she had been correct. They were actually moving flexibly for once. " _Gor som vi gor, ta nagra steg at vanster!"_ Alfred sang, and Gilbert chimed in. " _Lyssna och lar, missa inte chansen!"_ As the music ended, Ha Yeon clapped. "Good." "Where's Lovino?" "He needs to practice with me, but I sent him home early. He's better than you guys, and I actually believe we have a chance of winning."

Two days to the match. "Oppa, I need money." "For what?" "Makeup." "Just make sure it's not too expensive." Mei took Yao's credit card, and left with Ha Yeon. They returned about two hours later."Are you sure it won't look awkward?" "We _live_ together, and we're carbon copies." "I don't think that wig was the right color-" "Well, we can always check." "What's that talk about wigs?" "Nothing!" Yao had a fleeting idea of _what_ his sisters had been planning. _Poor kid, no wonder-_

The day of the match was exciting, the school buzzing with activity as parents and siblings piled into the stadium to watch the matches. Team Red won the soccer match, thanks to Ludwig's scoring. Team Blue won the match of basketball, as Alfred ran around here and there, putting the ball in the hoop like crazy. They made a tie in the marathon, and ice skating was taken by Blue without a doubt by Matthew. Swimming turned out to be Team Red's thing. And so the match droned on. At five p.m, there was only _one_ match left, if they could call it a match. It would determine the results as the rest was a tie.

"We have the last match of the day, which will determine the winner. Please greet the first team with a warm round of applause!" Kiku ran up to the stage, flanked by Ludwig and Feliciano. All of them were wearing suits, and the girls shouted their names in the crowd. He could see Yao among the people, smiling. "Beat them, Luddy!" "Feli, get them!" "Kiku, show your sis who's boss!" The music they had listened about a thousand times blared on the stage, and Kiku sang enthusiastically into the microphone along with Feliciano while moving from left to right. Ludwig joined in later in the singing, and by the end, everyone was shouting the lyrics that none of them understood.

Kiku high-fived his friends as they left the stage. "Hi." It was Hercules. "Um, hi." His face was sweaty, his hands were sweaty, and Kiku looked at the ground. "You guys were awesome." Hercules' gaze was warm, and Kiku blushed. "Wish me luck. It's my turn now." "G...good luck." He took Hercules' hands in one of his own, and slipped his bow tie into it. "Um, it's not sweaty, and it has all of my luck in it. I hope you do a good job." Hercules smiled at him. "Arigato, Kiku." And with that, Hercules jumped onto the stage with Vash and Toris. Kiku went to sit with his classmates, and watched his friends perform _Party Rock._ As he saw Hercules wearing his tie, his heart seemed to soar. They would most surely win.

As the song ended, the place burst into applause. Mei looked worriedly at her classmates. "We're supposed to beat _them_?" "The awesome me would like to leave." "Well, even heros can't handle this." "Come on, people! We can do it!" Mei looked at the threesome that were supposed to go on stage. "You can do it." "I want to die. What my parents would say, I don't want to think about." "It's all right." "I'll try." Alfred looked at Ha Yeon, who handed him the equipment. "Come on, hero. Do it for my sake." He didn't say a word, only trudged off. Gilbert followed, leaving-"I am doing this for _our year._ " "I know, brother."-Ha Eung. "Slaughter them, bro." Ha Eung left, and Mei with Yeon stared at the stage, where the threesome would appear.

"Let's greet our second team with a round of applause!" Kiku, Ludwig, and Feliciano gaped. "Where the hell is your brother?" Ludwig stared at the threesome on stage. There was Alfred F. Jones, holding pom-poms and wearing his basketball jersey. And Gilbert was also there, with his soccer uniform, also with the object that could only be identified as _pom-poms._ But there was no Lovino. The third person was a girl, who had long, red-brown hair. "Is that _your_ sister?" "No, that girl's less curvy." The girl was quite pretty, but she seemed to be displeased with something. She was wearing a cheerleading uniform, with L.H.E. spelled on it. "Wait, is that _your-_ " The song began, and the juniors started their dance. Alfred began the song, the girl joined in, and Gilbert added his voice, doing their infamous school cheer all the way. _The crowd was going crazy._ "No way." "I never knew I'd live to see Lee Ha Eung in a dress, wearing makeup." Somewhere among the crowd, he could guess Yao _nisan_ was fainting. "Well, what was that about Lovino and my sister?" "I guess they just added that to throw us off." Now the song was over, and there was even the noise for _encore._

"I guess we're beat." "No, we still have the different song." The stage darkened, and brightened again.

 _"Mamma mia, he's Italiano-"_ "Oh. My. God." Lovino had appeared on the stage, with Ha Yeon, who was singing. " _His name is Tony, he's from Milano, he whispers softly in my ears in Italiano-"_ The crowd had got it, and they were starting to laugh. "No wonder..." Now the twosome was dancing some crazy Italian dance that was way too dfficult. "And you said Lovino was in, what? Caramelldansen?" Ludwig snorted, laughing. "I didn't know, I really didn't!" But Feliciano was smiling as he looked at his handsome younger brother. "Seriously, he had to trick _me_?" The song changed at some point-and Despacito started playing, while more people started to emerge. Now Alfred was dancing with Ha Yeon while Lovino had started dancing with Antonio. Ha Eung, who had changed, was dancing with Ivan's sister-the scary one, while Elizaveta was twirling with Roderich. Gilbert was dancing with Matthew, and now the crowd was on its feet. "Let's dance!" One by one, they had scattered. Ludwig was dancing with Feliciano, and Kiku wanted to give them privacy. "Take my hand!" It was _Hercules_. "But.." "Come on, you don't get to dance every day!" He took the offered hand, and sang along to the crazy, happy song with the rest. When the song stopped, there was a thunderous round of applause.

"I get it that the winner is unanimous." The headmaster smiled as he offered the trophy to the President of the Juniors, that is Alfred. "Yay! We won!" " _Mansae_!" Ha Yeon high-fived her brother. "The awesome me brought you the trophy!" Gilbert punched his fist in the air. "Yeah, whatever." Lovino muttered under his breath. "Um, Yeon, could you get your brother to wear that uniform one more time? I never got to snap enough pictures." Elizaveta smirked. "Be quiet." Ha Eung was turning red. "Congrats, little brother." Ludwig had joined them. "Hey, you were pretty great, Lovi!" Feliciano ruffled Lovino's hair. "Don't touch my hair." But the boy didn't seem to care. "Good idea. Who planned it?" Kiku smiled at the twins and Mei. "Yours truly. Your sister is one smart kid." Roderich shook his head. "Mei helped a lot." "Ai-yah, why are there so many people?" It was a very familiar voice. "Oppa!" Ha Yeon ran toward her older brother. "Congratulations, little sister. But did you really have to play dress up with your brother?" "Well, we thought he made a very pretty girl." Hercules remarked, while Ha Eung turned red from white. "I'll murder all of you-just you wait-" "-Yeah, and we know you love us." Mei smiled at her brother. "Group hug?" "Of course!" And that was how the Sports Day ended.

* * *

Well, I had the great fortune of listening to _Caramelldansen._ I don't own the song, but I can tell you that it's a drug. You get addicted, so beware. I was listening to the song for the entire time I wrote this. I also don't own _Party Rock_ or _Mamma Mia(He's Italiano)_ but I assure you they're great. You already know I don't own _Despacito._ I just wanted to write fluff that centered around Kiku, and after I watched a YouTube video of Yong Soo and Kiku Caramelldancing, I wanted to make my favorite characters,well-dance. I hope the twist about Lovino and Ha Eung was unexpected or fresh or something. The next thing I believe I'll write about will be about Yao. Because I love the guy. Thanks always for reading this. Plus I **appreciate feedback**.


	13. In Which Yao has a Fit of Some Sorts

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: RusCh hinting, a lot of fluff.**

"Yao, do you know what day it is?" "What day is it?" Yao saw his father press his forehead with a sigh of irritation. "It's the day you were born. It's your birthday, son." "Oh." How was he to know, back when he was five? "Son, I have high expectations for you. I hope that about twenty-five years from now, you, my proud boy, will be sitting in the throne of Asia Corp." Wang Song-Yao's father stopped his frown. "You will live up to my expectations, won't you?" "But..." "Yao, you know I don't take but as an answer." Five year old Yao nodded. "Good. Your gift will be these." His father handed him a heavy set of books. "You are to study the Collections of Confucius. When you are done with him, you can read something more practical like the Legalists and their studies." Yao nodded. What he really wanted to read was a good comic, though. But his parents would disapprove. They always did.

 _What sort of dream was that?_ He wasn't a child anymore. He was thirty now, and somehow, his father's wish that he would be the King of the Corporation was true. It was something he disliked, that his father had somehow been correct-never mind that spiteful old man, he was having breakfast. Yao stared at the calendar absentminded, then stopped. It was his birthday tomorrow. October 1st was only a day away. The kids, did they know? "Hey, _oppa_! Do you know what's coming up?" Yao smiled at Ha Yeon. It was good that his sister knew his birthday. He would play along, as a good older brother. "No." He couldn't wait what she would say- "Well, School Festival's, I mean Halloween Festival's coming up! Can I have some allowance in advance?" Yao nodded, absently. _She doesn't remember my birthday. I would have liked even a small Happy Birthday._ "Nisan?" It was Kiku, anxious. "What is it?" "You don't look too well." "Oh, being the head of the Corporation isn't easy." He laughed it off. Perhaps Kiku would remember. "Oh, by the way, Nisan, I'm eating out tomorrow. A friend of mine invited me over for dinner." "But..." He didn't know. "Hey, that's bloody unfair!" Leon shouted to Kiku. Of course, he should have known Leon would know his birthday. "Arthur invited me to come over tomorrow, and if _you_ pull the slack then I can't go!" _Even Leon?_ "Shut up, all of you! Do you even know what day October 1st is?" "Ha _Eung-ah.._." His younger brother had remembered! "No, what day is it?" "IT'S THE DAY OF OUR CHINESE TEST, YOU UTTER FOOLS! NOW LET'S STUDY!" The boy remembered his Chinese test ,and yet forgot his brother's birthday. How ironic. "No, tomorrow's the day of the great _PRODUCE 101_ show!" Mei screamed excitedly. And with that the children all looked at him eagerly, waiting for his permission to skip dinner tomorrow.

"Fine. Don't be too late." "We won't!" Shouted Leon as he left to his room. "Thank you." Kiku said, hurrying to his quarters. "Shut the hell up, I need to prepare!" Ha Eung didn't even look at Yao, memorizing Chinese words. " _Xie-xie_!" Mei sang, heading upstairs. "Thanks!" Ha Yeon shouted, running upstairs. He was left alone at the table. Yao chortled as he thought about it. _They are children. You should not expect more from youngsters._ But then a bitter voice inside his head spoke out. _Yeon remembered Alfred Jones's birthday and went through all that trouble buying him a PSY autographed CD. Kiku didn't forget the day when Hatsune Miku or whatever, his favorite vocaloid was created. Mei knew the dates of every concert that the boy groups held, along with the manga festival dates. Leon asked me to remind him of Emil's birthday._ He couldn't help feeling cast aside. He had spent every moment he could with these children, and now they repaid him with not even a _Happy Birthday_ or a _Thank You For Raising Us._ Ungrateful Imbeciles. He'd have to eat out. Yao sighed as he undid his reservation at the fancy restaurant-booked for his family. Family schmamily. They didn't seem to care at all.

Eleven. Eleven Thirty. Eleven Fourty. Eleven Fifty. Tick-tock. He stared at the clock as he heard movement from Ha Yeon's room. The girl seemed to be busy, phoning Alfred Jones then Matthew Jones. But his siblings were all busy. Kiku was talking on his phone to his friends, the Beilschmidts and the Vargas boys about something. Mei was chatting online with her friend Elizaveta, Ha Eung was memorizing Chinese words- _he's been speaking Chinese ever since he was born, why does he feel the need to memorize Ni Hao while he forgets his brother's birthday?-_ and Leon was busy doing martial arts in his room. Bong. Bong. Bong. The grandfather clock in the house rang twelve times, signaling the beginning of a new day. And the beginning of Yao's first day in his thirty-first year. _Tian, Confucius, Mencius, please forgive me for being lazy, but I wish to sleep now._ Showing behavior that even Leon wouldn't display, Yao hurled himself into his warm bed. There was a _boing_ sound. _Holy Mencius._ "Oppa, what happened?" His sister had heard him. "No, nothing happened! Just go back to your delightful conversation with Matthew!" Yao shouted to his sister, then calmed, holding Hello Kitty. _Kitty, you and Xiong Mao are the only things worth living for. I'm changing my Will and Testament, so that the pandas get 50% of my money and you get 50%. These uncaring children..._ He soon drifted off to Dream Country.

Yao made no facial expression as he called for the children to eat breakfast. He wasn't going to change his Will and Testament, he had decided. He would simply care less about these children, who didn't remember his birthday. "Hey, hyung, where's the kimchi?" Ha Eung frowned as he sat down for breakfast. "No Kimchi for today, I believe." If Ha Eung wanted to eat Kimchi, he could make it himself. Or buy it himself, just like Yao had. "Agh, I need my morning kimchi..." The boy groaned. "Shut up." Ha Yeon glared at her twin just like always, and came to give him a hug. Yao guessed the only reason _she_ cared about him was his money. Oh, he had _plenty_ of that. She could die in it, for all he cared. So he did a very unlike-older brother-thing. He simply pushed her away. "Oppa?" The girl sounded puzzled. "Not now, I'm tired." "Okay." Ha Yeon retreated to her chair, looking glum. " _Ge-ge_ , if you're not too busy, can you buy me some fireworks at the Chinatown near the Corporation?" Leon asked, not quite looking at him. "I'm sorry, you know I am _quite_ busy nowadays." "You're acting weird." Mei gazed at him. And he lost it.

"I have _reason_ to act weird! I practially raised all of you, I _slaved_ for you kids, I couldn't do better even if I had my own-and you all _forget_?" "What are you talking about?" "Geez, you a _re_ sick or something. You know, it's really unlike you-are you even Yao? Because you sound like Ludwig Beilschmidt's dad." He had had enough of these brats. Yao stood from his chair. "Where are you going?" Kiku sounded worried. "None of your business. You kids don't even know what day this is!" The CEO slammed the door as he left, leaving the rest of the siblings in a strange mood. "I told you, this is all stupid." Kiku ran his hand through his hair, but Ha Eung just nodded. "This is working out."

 _'What did I just do to the children?'_ Yao tossed and turned in his seat. "Sir?" It was his far relative and assistant-Wang Cheng, a boy from Macau. "I'm a horrible brother." "No, sir. There are worse brothers in the world. You've worked for your family, your brothers and sisters are turning out well. When they grow up, they'll make you proud-why, I bet they'll thank you for what you've done! They already adore you-" "Thank you for the flattery, but I'm not so sure." Yao managed a small smile. "It's my birthday today." "Congratulations, sir. I didn't know-" "My siblings forgot, and I lost my temper at them. I didn't mean to." The lad didn't say anything from that point, just kept driving. His expression was blank, and Yao felt the urge to say something. "I'm horrible, I didn't even say goodbye, and I even yelled at them-" By that time, the office was looming closer and closer. "I hope I can make it up to them." Yao pursed his hands together. As Cheng opened his car, the boy made a strange face. "Sir, I really want to tell you-but I promised them I wouldn't-I'm sorry." "Them?" Who the hell were _them_? "Never mind." Cheng fled, leaving Yao to be swallowed in his thoughts.

"What's up?" If Cheng was his chauffeur and assistant in major jobs, Lien was his kind-of-bodyguard, another far relative from Vietnam. Lien could tell what was wrong with Yao, and it was truly irritating. "Nothing." "Nothing and you're making that face?" It wasn't exactly nothing. "It's just that-I lost my temper at the kids again." "You still call them the kids? HONESTLY, Kiku is eighteen. The twins and Mei are seventeen. Leon is sixteen. You should call them the teens or something." "They'll always be the kids to me." Yao tied his hair again, then undid it. "Make up your mind." Lien made a frustrated expression, but then she was good at exaggerating. "They forgot my birthday, and I don't know what came over me-I was so upset." "Why? You just said that they were kids. Can't you be more lenient to them if you consider them as children?" Yao almost bumped his fist in the table in frustration. "I... I thought I was becoming less important to them. Ha Yeon is always hanging around with the Kirklands, Leon with the Nordic kids, Kiku with his former Axis Members, Mei with her girls, and Ha Eung is always isolating himself. It feels like-" "They were going to leave the nest eventually." Lien shrugged, sympathetically, and left.

It was five, and Yao sighed. He couldn't forget how he had acted. _I behaved like a seven year old throwing a tantrum. No wonder the kids looked so shocked and puzzled._ There was a knock on his door. "Come in." He was expecting Cheng or Lien, not _Ivan Bradinski._ "Yao-yao, Happy Birthday!" Ivan was genuinely smiling, holding a bouquet of sunflowers and a crudely wrapped box. Yao's jaw dropped. "You-" "I hope you are not upset, Yao-yao, I only wanted to wish you a happy birthday!" The Russian placed the bouquet on the desk along with the box. "Yao?" The Russian looked shocked. "Is something wrong? Has someone hurt you?" Yao really wanted to control his emotions like Ha Eung did at that point, for tears were spilling down his face, silently. "Yao-yao, if you are upset of my being here, then I will leave. I did not want to ruin your birthday." Here he was, with his five siblings, and yet none of them remembered his birthday-not his employees, not anyone except his _stalker._

"N..No, it's not your fault...It's...It's not because of y...you..." Yao wiped the tears from his face. He was acting like one of the characters from the K-Dramas that he watched. "Then what is it?" Ivan dragged a chair over and sat. Somehow the Russian actually seemed understanding. "It's...Nobody...NOBODY REMEMBERED MY BIRTHDAY! Nobody...except...you." He pointed a finger at the Mafia, and Ivan stared at him, his gaze warm. "But that is absurd. You have so many siblings, the little brat, the pretty one, the otaku-" "Well, they all forgot, it seems." Yao smiled bitterly. Now that he had calmed, he was feeling a bit embarrassed. He had cried, exploded and snivelled like a baby in front of his own stalker. _Hopefully, he'll think I'm a big crybaby and leave me alone from now on._ And yet he didn't want Ivan to leave at this point. "And?" "I was so frustrated, it seemed that..." "That-" Ivan waited until the pause dragged on and on. "That I wasn't going to be their priority, that I was going to be left alone. I mean, it's not like I didn't expect it, I didn't expect that they would find their own lives, but they forgot my birthday and..I don't know, I was so lonely growing up, my parents were strict people, and I didn't want to be hard on them-" It was then that Ivan gave Yao a hug.

Normally he would have threatened to call the police, or Lien or something, but Yao was too shocked to say anything. "It's all right, Yao-yao. You will always be my top priority." Yao managed a smile at that. "I don't know if it's a good thing." Ivan chuckled. "Well, it's tough having siblings. And the children of the Han Estate are rumored to be a tough bunch." "They are not!" Yao snapped, and Ivan laughed louder. "Well, the maternal side of you is coming out." "Whatever." He was starting to enjoy Bradinski's company. He was going insane.

The door opened once more and this time Lien walked in. "Hey, Yao, a neighbor just called, they think someone broke into the house." _Fuck._ "I'd better go." Yao stood, nodding to Ivan. "Why?" "Because Ha Eung is going home, and-" "If the thief meets Ha Eung, you might have to pay for the thief's hospital bills." Lien spoke grimly, and turned to Ivan. "WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING HERE, STALKER?" 'Merely to say hello." Ivan stood as well, and as he passed Yao, he kissed Yao on the head. "Happy Birthday, dear Yao." "EXCUSE ME?" Yao flushed red, as Ivan ran away, laughing. "Please don't tell anyone _that_ happened. Especially not the twins. They're going to murder Bradinski in his sleep." Lien merely massaged her head.

As Yao drove home, he felt a weight in his stomach. What if he wasn't quick enough? What if the kids had returned early, and the thief was hurting them? His last words to them weren't exactly kind. Yao pressed the accelerator. He didn't care how many tickets he got, he needed to go home. Sure enough, the lights in the house was on. Yao rushed to the front steps, and threw open the front door. "HAPPY BIRTHDAY, IDIOT!" The first thing he felt was a dripping feeling. His clothes were dripping in _water._ And he was surrounded by people. A bunch of people, holding water-guns and smiling. Kiku, Mei, the twins, Leon, all of them, and more.

"Happy Birthday, opium-smoker." Arthur Kirkland was snickering with a pistol shaped water gun. "Cut ze name calling out, Arthur. It is his birthday after all- _Joyeux Anniversaire, Monsieur._ " Francis Bonnefoy hit his boyfriend on the shoulderblade. "Happy birthday, Mr. Alfred's brother-in-law!" That was Gilbert Beilschmidt. "Be quiet, you are giving everyone a bad impression." Ludwig Beilschmidt glared at his brother, who was waving a sword-shaped balloon. "Happy Birthday, sir. Really sorry to trick you." Lien and Cheng stood there as well. "Hey, I'm going to play a song for Mr. Wang so shut up!" Roderich- Mei's friend shouted over the noise. "That's my boy!" Elizaveta, another of Mei's friends kissed the boy on the cheek as the teen started playing the piano.

"What is going on-" "We tricked you!" Mei spoke excitedly. "You didn't actually believe that we forgot, did you?" Kiku looked worried. "Come on, _oppa_ 's not like you." Ha Yeon laughed, headlocking the Japanese boy. "Whatever. You can give the credits to Leon." Ha Eung spoke gruffly, dragging Leon on front. "You kids-you-" "Reality hits you hard, bro." Leon nodded. "Yes, we tricked you. It was all a show, so don't worry about presents, we've got the lot!" And that was when Wang Yao started to cry again, to the immense horror of his siblings, and amusement of the onlookers.

The surprise party was over, the guests had left. The Beilschmidts had gifted him with a new stationary product-high quality just as always. The Kirklands had given him a weird assortment of presents which were mostly consisted of food made by Francis (thank god it wasn't _Kirkland_ ), the Baltics had handed him a car key, and so on. Now his family's presents awaited him. "We're going to bed now. You can open them." Mei smiled at him, and pointed at a pile of gifts wrapped in various colors. The kids waved as they trudged to their rooms, and Yao was left with five boxes.

The gift wrapped in blue paper was Kiku's, with the boy's calligraphy on a simple sheet of kanji as a letter.

 _Dear Nisan, Happy Birthday. I hope your work has not been so tiring, and I really wish for you to have a good year. This gift is one I have prepared for a long time. Please don't be unsatisfied._

 _-Kiku-_

It was a bottle of paper cranes. ' _A Thousand Cranes_ ' was written on the bottle, and Yao sighed, uncorking the bottle, examining each crane. Skillfully crafted with painstaking effort. How much time it would have taken, he had no idea. _I could never be more satisfied._

This time, the box was pink, with a flower on it. It was Mei, he was sure of it. The card was pale pink, and Yao smiled at the thought of his sister- _she never grows tired of pink._

 _Dear Gege, Happy Birthday to you! Wow, you really are getting old, aren't you? But it doesn't matter, we still love you. We'll always love you even when you're old and gray-wait, what? Anyways, I hope you can enjoy the rest of the year! I'm sorry if you don't like the gift, but I can always make you another!_

 _-Mei-_

It was a scarf, a red one, and a golden dragon was threaded with care on it. His initials were placed carefully at the end. Yao wondered how much wool Mei had used, smiling at how long it was. _I don't need any more scarves, Mei. This is the best I have ever seen._

The third box was red, with fancy gold decorations. It had to be Leon's because the letter was written on the back of his progress report.

 _Dear Dage, happy birthday. I've never admitted it to you, but I always missed you back at the Kirkland House. Sorry for being such a jerk nowadays. It's called puberty. Hope you can understand. Happy birthday._

 _-Leon-_

Yao looked at the gift, eyes sparkling. It was a snowglobe, a middle sized one, and there was a tiny Shinatty inside it, along with _Xiong Mao_. They were in a bamboo forest. The detail of the gift overwhelmed him, and Yao had to stop for a while with the gift opening. He needed to dry his eyes.

The next gift was in a black box. _Ha Eung._ Yao stared at the card, which was black and prepared himself for his brother's handwriting.

 _Dear Oppa, Happy Birthday! Yes, I got you fooled! I bet you're gawking now because Ha Eung always uses black while I used white. This time, we decided to change boxes. But this isn't about a surprise, is it? Oppa, I refuse to believe you are thirty-one now. Life sucks. To think that you were my age when you took us in is unimaginable. I saw what the others were preparing, but I wasn't sure if I could even compete. So I wanted you to have the best I could offer. Sorry. I hope you have a better year! I love you!_

 _-Ha Yeon-_

Yao chuckled, reading the letter, and looked at the insides of the box. There was a CD. He put it inside the DVD player, and watched, amazed, as Reflection started to play. Ha Yeon was singing softly, and he almost sang along, but then the song morphed into his favorite songs in Chinese. It was a medley. And the teen didn't even like to listen to them. Yao started to cry again, but this time he went on.

The remaining box was white. A simple box. Ha Eung's gift awaited him.

 _Dear Hyung, happy birthday. Yes, I changed boxes with Yeon. I don't know why she's doing that to bug you, but I'm sorry for the shock if you opened mine first. That little prick, making me change with her-but she's good that way. She's annoying but she's my sister. Just like I hate Kiku and he's my brother. Actually, Hyung, the only person who I don't dislike is you. You never gave up on me, never told me I was crazy, never judged me. You were always there for me, for us through bad, through good. Hyung-nim, thank you for raising us to be who we are. I will never forget you, and we will never abandon you. You, and our family is my priority. Thank you. I hope you like my gift, though it's stupid._

 _-Ha Eung-_

Yao reached for a tissue, and as he groped around the table, a hand handed him the box. It was Kiku, looking concerned. "Nisan?" "N...no, it's nothing." Yao blew his nose and pulled out another CD. As it played, Yao jumped. "Hello, everyone! This is the AWESOME Gilbert-" "And the HERO Alfred!" The two boys were practically yelling. "Shut up!" That was Ha Eung. "Well, Lee, we're _helping_ you." Gilbert snorted. "Yeah, Lee." Alfred nodded. "But let's get to the point! Lee's brother here, the HANDSOME, SMEXY, RICH AND SUPERCOOL Wang Yao is thirty-one in a week! " Gilbert commented.

"Did I hear _smexy_?" Ha Yeon had come from her room. Yao turned to the screen again. "And Lee wanted us to, well, say something nice to his bro!" Alfred chuckled. "So here goes, Mr. Wang! HAPPY BIRTHDAY, SIR! I HOPE YOU DON'T HATE ME ANYMORE!" _I'll try for Yeon._ Yao managed to smile. "Happy birthday, Mr. AWESOME WANG! I mean, that really is a compliment coming from the awesome me!" Gilbert high-fived Alfred, and the two were gone. The video wasn't finished though, and now Leon was watching as well.

"So, Mr. Wang, I heard from Kiku that you are a great brother. I wish I could be just like you, and Happy Birthday." Ludwig smiled slightly.

"Hey, Mr. Wang, can you make me Chinese food, cause Kiku said it was yummy! I'll make you gelato! And spaghetti! Happy Birthday!" Feliciano squealed.

"That's not how you say happy birthday, you say it like this." Lovino paused. "Hurry up, my arms hurt." Ha Eung snapped from the other side. "Well, Happy Birthday, sir. I hope my brother was more like your sibling over here. Want to trade?"

"No, he doesn't~" Antonio appeared on the screen. "Happy birthday, sir."

"Well, Happy Birthday, Mr. Wang! I heard you were single, do you want to go on a date? I can introduce you-" "Not now, Elizaveta!" Roderich appeared next to his girlfriend. "Happy Birthday, sir. And _please_ forget what she said."

"Happy Birthday, Opium. I hope you live a fruitful life. You have to, my cousin's planning to marry your sister-" Arthur Kirkland was cut off by Francis Bonnefoy. " _Honhonhon,_ just ignore him, Monsieur Wang. _Joyeux Anniversaire!_ " "Happy birthday, Mr. Wang!" Matthew smiled at him along with Francis, stepping on Arthur's foot. "What. Oh, smile?" Now Yao, Leon, Kiku and Ha Yeon started to laugh and Mei joined them.

"Um...uh, Mr. Wang, I don't know you that well-" "Hurry up and say it." Ha Eung growled at Hercules. "Okay, Happy Birthday! I hope I can be rich like you!" "That wasn't nice, you should be like this!" Toris smiled widely and addressed him. "Happy Birthday, Mr. Wang! I hope you the best!" Now Ha Eung had emerged.

"H...Ha...Happy Birthday, Mr. Wang...I wish you the best..." Yekaterina smiled at him through the screen. "Come on, don't be like that." A girl's voice snapped through the screen, and Natalia appeared. "Happy Birthday, sir. You do have a good brother. Perhaps I should try this on mine..."

The ending was short. All of the well-wishers in front of the Han Estate, and his siblings shouting 'Happy Birthday!' finished the film. " _Hyungnim_ , I'm sorry if you don't like it-" "I don't like it." Yao spoke curtly. "I love it." His brother looked shocked. "Oh, you kids..." Yao smiled at his siblings. These little pranksters, these devils- _how he loved these children. What he would do for them and their wellbeing._ " _Wo ai ni._ " He drew them in a hug, all five of them. "Oi, get off me!" Leon was shrieking. "Shut up, prick!" Ha Eung shouted. "Nisan, my hair-" Kiku muttered. "Gege, geez-" "Oppa, why the hell are you crying?" Ha Yeon laughed. It was their way of saying _I love you_. And love they did.

* * *

 _Characters/Countries/Age/Job_

 _Yao Wang/China/30/CEO of Asia Corp_

 _Leon Wang/Hong Kong/16/Student_

 _Mei Wang/Taiwan/17/Student_

 _Kiku Honda/Japan/18/Student_

 _Ha Yeon Lee/South Korea/17/Student_

 _Ha Eung Lee/North Korea/17/Student_

 _Cheng Wang/Macau/28/Yao's Second Assistant_

 _Lien Wang/Vietnam/29/Yao's Bodyguard and First Assistant_

 _Ivan Bradinski/Russia/28/Leader of Mafia in NYC_

 _Gilbert Beilschmidt/Prussia/17/Student_

 _Ludwig Beilschmidt/Germany/18/Student_

 _Arthur Kirkland/England/30/Lawyer_

 _Francis Bonnefoy/France/30/Model_

 _Alfred F. Jones/America/17/Student_

 _Matthew W. Jones/Canada/17/Student_

 _Feliciano Vargas/North Italy/18/Student_

 _Lovino Vargas/South Italy/17/Student_

 _Antonio Fernandez/Spain/17/Student_

 _Elizaveta Heatherberry/Hungary/17/Student_

 _Toris Laurinaitis/Lithuania/18/Student_

 _Hercules Karpusi/Greece/18/Student_

Yekaterina Bradinski/Ukraine/17/Student

 _Natalia Bradinski/Belarus/17/Student_

 **ANOTHER TOUGH DAY FOR XIHWA KIM! BUT I HAVE SURVIVED AND YES, I HAVE WRITTEN THE GREAT, THE WONDERFUL STORY OF YAO'S BIRTHDAY-(feels ashamed)-okay, I wrote a story about Yao's birthday. And I made it as fluffy as possible, since the real old man Yao has the syndrome of the nest thingy that I don't exactly know of. I didn't think that I could post this on October 1st, which is really China's birthday and I have to write Mei's birthday...Geez...Taiwan, why is your birthday so close to China's? And does anyone know when Hong Kong's birthday is? If you do can you just please tell me or something? Please, cause I feel awful about not knowing his.**

 **Plus I appreciate feedback. And I would like it if you guys told me who you want to hear about next. Thanks just as always.**

 **-From XiHwa, the writer of a crappy story.**


	14. August Moon Festival is Here!

"Do you know where the heck Yeon Lee is?" Alfred had been honking his horn for a century, and now he yelled at a passing Feliciano Vargas. Vargas was close to Honda. Perhaps he would tell Alfred where all of the residents of the Han Estate were. "Didn't she tell you?" Vargas laughed at him. "What?" "The family left to some place, some Korean, Chinese tradition or something. There's only one person who doesn't have that holiday in the family, but they all left." Alfred groaned. "Great, now I can't sleep in class. Yeon will expect me to take notes for her." Matthew only patted him on the back.

Two days earlier, the Han Estate exploded. "Do you know what's coming up?" Yao, head of the family stood, glowering down at his siblings. "What, your death day?" Ha Eung had earned a _thwack_ on his head for his rudeness. "No, you fool. It starts with a C in Korean. It starts with a A in Chinese." Leon furrowed his brow. "What the hell is that?" "Language!" Yao slapped the table. He was going to talk with Kirkland about Leon's language. "August Moon Festival." Kiku spoke, clearly. "Bravo, you're quite correct." "Hurrah!" The teens burst into talk again. The last holiday, they had gone to Korea for the sake of the twins. The holiday before that, they had gone to Bejing, China where the family had had a blast.

"Where are we going now?" Mei asked. "That, I have not decided. But we can use the company plane." "Three cheers for oppa!" Ha Yeon shouted over the noise. "Let's go to Hong Kong. It's way better than China." Yao glared at Leon. "What? I was only stating the truth. China stinks." "You are Chinese. Mei and I are Chinese. Show some respect." Leon looked at the ground. "So?" "Never mind." He was going to lecture the British idiot( _Kirkland_ ) about this. "How about Japan?" Kiku sounded quite curious. "Japan...Not bad...But Kiku, we went to Japan for Christmas." Yao pointed out. "Can we go to Taiwan?" Mei asked Yao. "I still opt for China." Yao said, tapping his fingers. "You kids wanted to go to Shanghai. I'm taking you to Shanghai." "Actually, _oppa_ , I want to go to Busan." Ha Yeon spoke out, while Ha Eung groaned. "That sounds boring."

"Fine, let's draw lots. You children write the country you want to visit with the city on equal pieces of paper. We will fold the paper, put them in a box, I will pick out of one of them, and we will go to the picked place." The kids agreed with that, and within seconds, the lot was ready. Yao closed his eyes-please, don't tell me I picked something weird-and drew out his hand. He fished out a piece of paper, and read out loud.

"Ha Eung Lee, North Korea, Pyeongyang-What?!" Yao glared at his sibling. "What's wrong with Pyeongyang?" "You want to go to the country of a communist pig who hates companies like ours?" Ha Eung stared back at him. "You promised." This earned him a ear-splitting yell from Ha Yeon. "Out of all the cool places, you just had to write, what, North Korea? They might go into war! Are you suicidal?" Ha Eung crossed his arms. "So, what did you want?" "A normal country!" Yao nearly hit the wall with frustration. "Listen, brother, North Korea is crazy." "Fine, just go where you want to go!" Yao hated to see his siblings fighting, and he hated to see Ha Eung's good mood evaporate. But he knew North Korea was an _insane_ choice, and so he sighed. "All right, I'll draw the lots again."

This time, South Korea was drawn out of the box. "Yay!" Ha Yeon started to dance. "Okay, so South Korea it is." Yao pulled out his phone, contacting Lien. "Yes, Lien. Do me a favor and check South Korea for me." "Why, you're going to South Korea with the kids?" "Yes." Lien sounded agitated. "Actually, boss, I don't think it's safe for you to go anywhere, not when North Korea's talking about attacking." "The kids-" "Are kids." Lien was rolling her eyes, he could tell. "Honestly, Yao, _you_ run a business. If you get into harm, people could lose their jobs. Think about the people relying on y-" "Yes, yes, I get it." Yao finished his phone call. His siblings were looking worried now. "We can't go?" Mei muttered to Ha Yeon. "Christ." Leon glared at his milk. "Just when things were looking up.."Kiku clapped his hand to Ha Eung's mouth.

"Kids, I'm sorry. We can't go." There was a long groan. "So _what_ are we going to do? Go to school? Get homework? Really?" Leon spoke out, a frown on his face. "No." Yao's head ached. "Then what?" "First, we do things the _traditional_ way." "Tradition?" Mei looked horrified. During the Historical Chinese dramas and Korean dramas they had watched, tradition was boring. "Yes. We pay our ancestors memorial service." "We never had to do things that _boring_!" Ha Eung griped. "You were children. Now you are being treated as _adults._ And twins, you will pay your parents their service." There was a solemn atmosphere. "How about me, _nisan_?" "Kiku, you will be with me, Mei and Leon, you will be visiting your parents as well." Yao noticed that there was a grim mood hanging over the family.

"Afterwards, we will go to Chinatown." "Yeah, _thanks_." The twins stood. "Good night, _nisan_." "Bye, _gege._ " And soon Yao was left alone. "Oh, _Shinatty-chan_ , where did I go wrong?" As usual, there was no reply. And so, that was why five griping teenagers and a sorely miserable adult was heading to the graveyard. "How far have we gone?" Ha Yeon asked, already bored. "20 Kilometers." Yao answered, his eyes on the road. "Do you know, you're asking that the _millionth_ time." Ha Eung gave his sibling a cold gaze. "Well, I don't have any data left in my phone. I can't believe I have to wait until-" "Will you _please_ be quiet? I need to listen!" Kiku _shouted_ at the twins, as he was listening to vocaloid music through his headphones. "Well, too bad, bro." Leon sighed, he had given up and was playing Nintendo. "Can I at least sleep?" Mei gave the rest a pleading glance. "Confucius, how much longer!" Yao banged his head on the steering wheel. He wondered _why_ the graveyard was so far.

At last, they had arrived. The place was private, visitors only, intended for the upper class. "Okay, we'll split up and meet at 12 p.m." "But it's only 9 a.m!" Leon looked horrorstruck. "What _can_ we do, talk with dead people?" "Time flies. Come, Kiku." And Yao was off. "This sucks." Ha Yeon dragged Ha Eung in the right direction while Mei took Leon's hand, veering to the left.

"Um, which grave was it?" "How am I supposed to know!" Ha Eung growled, then stopped. Their parents were sleeping in one of these graves, along with their grandparents. It would be best to shut up. "Ha Eung-ah." It was Ha Yeon again, but now her voice was _wobbly._ "왜( _Why_ )." He retorted, but he knew. "I found it." His twin pointed to a grave, with a marble plaque on it. _The Grave of CEO_ _Lee Ju Mong, and Secretary Kim All Young, born in 1970, married in 1996, and died in 2003. Rest in peace._ "Do you have the _makgurly_?" Ha Yeon asked him, her voice lowered. "Yes." Ha Eung poured two cups of rice wine, setting each in front of one plaque. "Hi, _umma._ " His sister was going to cry, and he knew it. " _Annyeonghasayeo_ ( _Hi in Korean_ ), _abuji._ "Now he was going to cry as well.

"Is this..." Yao hushed Kiku, walking over to a overdecorated grave. " _Ni Hao_ , _bàba, māma._ (Hello, father, mother in Chinese)" His older brother bowed deeply, before lowering the sack he had brought onto the ground. "Kiku, say hi." " _Gonnichiwa, okasan, otosan._ (Hello, mother, father in Japanese)" Kiku knelt in front of the grave. It only seemed right. He started to read the letters engraved in the stone. _Wang Song_ -"Kiku, fetch me some dim sum." Yao's voice cut through his deciphering, and Kiku stood, picking up the tray of dim sum as he went.

"Well, I guess this is about it." Mei sighed as she pointed towards the family graves. "Why?" "This graveyard zone is for _our_ family, and there's Yao over there. Which means my dad and your mom isn't that far off." No sooner had she said that did Leon find a small grave. "Hi." He sat on the soft grass next to where his mom was buried, and waved Mei away. He could see his cousin nearby, she had found her dad and was crying, practically hugging the grass. _"Girls._ Leon wiped the saltiness running down his cheek.

"Okay, so school's not _that_ bad." Ha Eung explained to his unanswering father. "School's great, dad, don't believe a word of what he's saying!" Ha Yeon smiled through teary eyes as she tore beef jerky and placed it on a dish. "Yao said you liked it so I brought it." "You don't have to explain, for God's sake-" "He's always like this, mom. I have to put up with _this._ " "Well, right. But we're living honest lives. At least we're not _manga-crazy_ or _pyromaniacs_." The twins chortled together. "We miss you guys." "And the ironic thing is we do not even _remember_ you." "Shut up!" The Lee grave, if the ancestors were there, would be having a less peaceful time than usual.

"The company is making good profits in the cell-phone industry." Yao commented, hacking the grass from his father's grave. "I got an A on Chinese." Kiku remarked as he poured _sake_ in a cup next to Mrs. Wang's plaque. "We're going to beat Nordic Industry in the car business at this rate." Yao chuckled. "And yes, I wrote a haiku and the teacher said it was great." Kiku smiled. "I actually miss you, father." Yao sighed, leaning against the grave for a second. "Thank you for bringing me into your family, Mrs. Wang." Kiku bowed in front of the grave a second time.

"Hey." Leon set a bunch of firecrackers next to his mom. " _Gege_ 's company is doing great. And _jiejie_ is nice as usual. The twins are double trouble, but they care about me. The psycho acts like he's _uninterested_ , but he cares. The _otaku_ is gentle, as expected of him." He patted the grave absent minded. "You know, I don't know why you married dad, and I do not know _why_ Arthur and Yao keep fighting for custody, but thanks for marrying dad."

"Hi, dad!" Mei brightened. It wouldn't do to cry in front of her dad's grave. "So, my life is good enough! Eliza and Roderich are super nice, the kids say I'm sweet and _gege_ is ever so kind!" Mei started to wipe the marble plaque that had a layer of dust on it. "Ew, don't these people clean your plaque? It must be really uncomfortable."She scrubbed at the plaque, smiling. "And Kiku...Oh, well, I'll have to give up on him, right?" Mei sighed. "The others are so _lucky._ Ha Yeon has Alfred who adores her, Ha Eung is _definitely_ in a relationship with Nat-I bet they're going to go out before the year is through! Leon has Emil, and they're supercute-I wonder what's going to happen to me."

It was 1pm when they gathered. "So, how did the visit go?" Yao pretended that he didn't notice Ha Yeon's eyes were red. He averted his gaze from Leon's sleeve, which was wet. He kindly believed Ha Eung's excuse that his voice was hoarse because he had a light cold. He decided to overlook the fact that Mei had a runny nose and that Kiku was blinking too much.

"I see it went well." "Can we come again next year?" Yao raised an eyebrow. This was something he had not expected. "We miss them." Leon added, and hurridly spoke. "Not that you're not great." "Okay, you can come again." Yao nodded, then noticed something. "Kiku, where is your coat?" "I left it. It seemed cold, and-" "Yes." How adorable his siblings were. "So, let's go. Chinatown awaits us."

The rain had started to fall, but it stopped by the time they had reached the town area. "All right, so what can we do?" "We can play dress up in traditional garb." "Yeah, and Kiku would wear a kimono while you guys wore hanbok, and we'd wear changshen and qipao." Leon commented. "That sounds great." Mei spoke, looking at Kiku. "Yes, it's a good idea." "Seriously?" Leon looked thunderstruck, but Yao smiled meaningfully. "Well, there are many people wearing traditional garb. Why shouldn't we?" "I _hate_ this family. Kirkland wouldn't make me wear-" "Kirkland threw away your fireworks." Kiku pointed that out, and the boy was silent.

"Hurrah!" Ha Yeon shouted out loud, and passersby stared at them. "Shut up." Ha Eung nudged her. They were wearing _hanbok_ as planned. "Well, this is awkward." Kiku glanced at his _ukata._ "This is family stuff." Yao pointed out, tightening the clasp of his _changshen._ "It's better than I expected." Leon acknowledged, sounding weary. "So, what now?" "Oh! Let's have Moon Cake!" Mei clapped her hands, excited. "No." "Yes!" "Christ-" " _Kami-sama-_ " "Amen." And so they moved onto the busy street.

By the time their Chinatown visit was over, Leon was ladled with fireworks and Kiku had some mangas in his hand. Yao was holding some dogeared books written in Chinese. "Best Moon Festival. Ever." Mei spoke through a mouthful of moon-cake. "Not bad." Ha Eung had acquired a new blade, and was eating _songpyeon_ as he nodded, agreeing. "Awesome." Ha Yeon cradled a jewelry box in her arms.

"So, time to go home, right?" Yao asked his siblings. "Yes." Kiku nodded. As the teens moved back into the car, the moon was starting to rise. "Look, a full moon!" Mei pointed outside the car window. " _That's_ why it's called the Moon Festival." Leon muttered, but he smiled. "Kids, make a wish!" Yao announced, as he began to drive.

 _'I wish I get to meet someone nice-'_

 _'I wish Hercules and I can be a pair-'_

 _'If there is a god, please tell me I can be treated normally-'_

 _'I wish Al would stop acting like a kid-'_

 _'I wish Emil and I are the same team on the science project-'_

It was eleven p.m. Yao yawned, then picked up his phone. There were a lot of messages, but only few of them actually mattered. His siblings had gone to bed early. As he stared at the pale full moon, the man smiled warmly.

 _'Tian, grant our family more happiness and warmth. Let Kiku meet this Greek boy, give Mei a good enough person to keep her mind off Kiku, please ensure Ha Eung is seen as what he really is. Make sure that Jones and Yeon don't go out, and tell me that Leon will find there is more to life than fireworks.'_

He didn't know for a fact that many other families were staring up at the moon as well.

"Hey, it's a full moon! Make a wish!" Hercules closed his eyes, then spoke out loud. "I hope to be better friends with Kiku." "That was cute!" Feliciano smiled at his far relative.

"Full moon is when the werewolves come-" "Eh, _chère_ , please." Francis smiled at Arthur. "Did you wish anything?" Alfred asked his brother. "It's a secret." "Well, I wished that Yao stops hating me. Jesus, that guy-" "That's _exactly_ why he hates you." Arthur sighed.

"Older brother?" Natalia stared at Ivan, who was gazing at his phone. "So, the Han Estate went to Chinatown." Ivan mused. "You love him-" Natalia spoke heatedly then cut herself off. "Sister, let's just make a wish to the moon tonight." Ivan smiled then gathered his hands. ' _Give me the key to Yao's heart._ ' Natalia closed her eyes, muttering softly. ' _If you cannot grant me older brother, give me someone who understands._ '

Emil was standing outside the house, on the porch when he saw the full moon. "Leon will be seeing this moon-" He mused, then blushed faintly. ' _I hope Leon sees this moon, it's so pretty and he would love it._ '

The August Moon Festival was over.

 **Okay, so it's done. The August Moon Festival in Chinese, or Chuseok in Korean is held in August 15th of every lunar year. It's Chuseok in this place!!! Awesome!**

 **In Korea, we visit the graves of our ancestors, eat rice cakes called _songpyeon_ and meet our relatives.**

 **In China, they visit their homes and eat moon cakes, and they make wishes to the moon.**

 **I hope it was good enough for all of you. Thanks again. And bad news- I don't know what to write for Mei's birthday... Which means I might have to skip...Geez... But thanks always!**

 **Happy Chuseok (August Moon Festival) to all you guys!**


	15. In Which Their Daily Lives are Leaked-1

**Author's Note: Okay, so these were** ** _some_** **ideas I thought of posting. But I just didn't for some reason.**

 ** _Wang_** **Yao/30/China/CEO of Asia Corp**

 **Kiku Honda/18/Japan/Student**

 **Wang Mei/17/Taiwan/Student**

 **Lee Ha Yeon/17/South Korea/Student**

 **Lee Ha Eung/17/North Korea/Student**

 **Wang Leon/17/Hong Kong/Student**

* * *

 _UNO._ No Cursing Allowed

"How are we supposed to live without no curses?" Ha Yeon asked Yao, as her older brother gave her a stern look. "It's okay, it's only until exams. And I'm in." "What happens if we- _forget_?" Ha Eung asked in a not-very-nice voice. "Well, dishes for a whole month." Yao seemed to ponder. "Wow." Mei looked overwhelmed. " _Nisan_ , what happens to the first person who-" "Dishes. Plus-" Yao had gotten a crazy idea. "Plus _visiting_ the Bradinskis." There was a ton of complaints. "Why?" "Why them? How about the Nordics, the Kirklands?" "Because you guys happen to dislike them." And so it was on. No Cursing Allowed.

Monday. "You little-little..." Mei stuttered as Leon snatched the last dumpling on the table. "Prey continue, _dear_ sister. I think the Bradinskis have nice air." Leon smirked, popping the dumpling into his mouth. "YOU LITTLE DEMON MONKEY!" Silence. "Mei, isn't demon monkey a curse?" Ha Yeon asked her. "Well, no. It just refers to monkeys who are demonish." They all stared at Yao. "Well, it's not a curse."

Tuesday. "Who in the _world_ took my Haikyu away?" Kiku _smiled_ in a very creepy way, and the twins cowered, thinking of old times. "Well, admit fast. If any one of you _wonderful children_ admit later, I will cut out your eyes and shove them down your throat. Then I will carve out your heart and-" " _Hyung_ , he's bullying us!" Ha Eung shouted in a very loud voice. "It was better when he cursed, at least it wasn't this intimidating." Leon muttered. "Be nice, Kiku!" Yao yelled, appearing out of his room. "And Kiku, if you don't mind, may I borrow your Haikyu? The first book was quite interesting and I would like to read the second." Kiku nodded, smiling as his book was returned. " _Nisan_ , what happened to your brain? Didn't father teach you that _folding other people's books_ were rude?" Yao grinned at his sibling. "Detention for your rudeness. You, my dearest will wash the dishes for three days." "It's finally over." Mei sighed. "No, the Bradinski thing is still on. Kiku didn't curse." "God."

Wednesday. "Hey, Ha Eung Lee!" Ha Eung groaned. Gilbert Beilschimidt. After the dancing thing, he was the laughingstock of the entire school. "What." "Are you playing crossdressing any time soon? Cause I heard from Elizaveta that she really wants to take a picture and-" If he could, he would have told the lad to _shut the hell up_. But apparently, his siblings would sell him out if he cursed, and so Ha Eung pretended the boy was mute. "He has high tolerance, doesn't he?" Kiku mused to Ludwig. "Yes, your younger brother is certainly very...tough." "Told you it wasn't going to work." Ha Yeon laughed at him.

Thursday. "Oh my god." The family was watching TV. On the screen, the guy was telling the girl that he didn't want to go out with her anymore. On their 100th anniversary. "What sort of a-" Ha Yeon was ready to curse, but stopped. "Go on. What sort of a man is he?" Leon asked her, smiling. "He's _stupid_!" Stupid wasn't a curse word. "Stupid? That's pathetic." "Be quiet, I need to watch." Now the girl was crying, and the guy was informing her that he was cheating on her. "He needs to go out and kill himself! What an empty headed figure!" Mei was cracking up next to her. "What." "Your _language_ hasn't developed, excepting the curse area." It turned out the guy dumped the girl because he had cancer. "What in Confucius just happened!" "Tell me that's a curse." Leon gave Yao a look. "Too bad, it's not."

Friday. "Where are my fireworks?" Leon gave his siblings a cool stare. The thing was, the twins and Kiku, along with Mei had formed an alliance. Which meant either Leon and Yao were their victims, but Yao wasn't the type to curse, and so the victim was Leon. "Dunno." Ha Eung twirled his knife in front of him. "Leon-ah, what would we want to do with your _pathetic_ playtoys?" Ha Yeon gave him a motherly smile. "Yes, otuto. I _thought_ you were mature enough to live without them." Kiku patted Leon on the head. "You...You..." "Yes?" Mei asked him, a sweet smile on her face. "Your mother was a dishwasher and your father was a microwave!" The older siblings sighed. "Is that an insult?" "I don't want to think about it."

Saturday. "Children?" Yao looked at his siblings. His seemingly innocent siblings. "Yes?" "Explain to me _why_ my Shinatty-chan stationary are missing." "We don't know." Yao glared at them. "You. You don't know." "Yes, what would we want to do with that s _tupid_ stationary?" Ha Eung asked Yao, staring at the floor. "It's not even cute." Kiku looked into the manga he was reading. "Can I go? I have more important things to do than that shinatty thingy." Leon looked bored. "THAT SHINATTY THINGY?" Yao looked furious. "Yes, that thing you call a cat." Ha Yeon studied her nails. "EXCUSE ME, YOUNG LADY, BUT SHINATTY-CHAN IS ONE OF THE FEW JOYS OF MY LIFE!" "He's indicating that we aren't the joys of his life." Mei whispered- a clearly audible whisper. "That's not what I fucking said!" Whoops. "Fucking?" "Language!" "He cursed!" "Hurrah for older brother!" Yao face-palmed. His own trick had backfired on him.

Sunday. "So, Yao-yao, what are you doing here-with your entire family?" Yao glared at the Russian who looked very happy. "It's not like I wanted to see you, it's just that I lost a stupid bet with my siblings and-" "I cannot understand why we are also dragged into this situation." Kiku averted his eyes from Ivan. "So, older brother, you should finish-" "I _know_." "This is going to be hilarious!" Ha Yeon smirked. "Get on with it, so that we can go home and watch Mamma Mia." Ha Eung snapped. "Fine!" The CEO gave all his siblings a cold glare, then spoke in a girlish voice-"Hey, darling, want to get wasted tonight?" There. The dare was done. He only hoped the mafia in front of him took the hint and realized this was a joke. Ivan blinked, then smiled. "Wonderful, you can become one with me!" "Run!" Yao began the greatest escape of his life. The family barely escaped with their lives. "That wasn't very fun." Leon commented. "Be quiet." Yao gave the teen a well earned smack.

* * *

 _DEUX._ The Dinner Between Family Friends

1) Feliciano and Ludwig

Feliciano and Ludwig sat awkwardly down on the chair provided for them. The last time they had eaten here, half of the siblings were bruised and battered. Now the eldest sat scowling at them. "Why aren't you eating?" Oh, that was why he was scowling. "Noooodles!" Feliciano squealed, then started to wolf down the food. "Feliciano, eat with manners." Ludwig gave his friend a small jab. "Luddy, that _hurts_!" It turned out the jab was a mistake. "Luddy?" The man, Wang Yao smiled. "That is so adorable. Are you two in a relationship?" "No." "Yes!" "Kiku, are they?" Kiku looked up from his bowl, and gave Ludwig a slanted smile. "Of course." Ludwig had to survive the rest of the dinner with sniggers from Leon, Mei, and the twins along with looks that spelled _awww_ from Yao. He was never eating with the Wang family again.

-THREE WEEKS LATER-

"I thought you weren't eating with us?" Kiku gave Ludwig a meaningful look. "Father hasn't cooked anything. He's staying at the General's Quarters so we don't have anything to-" "Yes, quit the explainations. We know you want to eat with us." Why he had decided to visit the house with Feliciano, he didn't know. He also didn't know why he had played Dance Dance Revolution with Kiku's sister, Lee Ha Yeon. "Children, leave Luddy alone. Dinner's done, anyway." "Luddy! Look, there are nooodles!" _Luddy, for god's sake?_ The teen knew better than to argue with Feliciano. He'd deal with his boyfriend later- and he moved quickly to the chair before his stomach growled.

2) Elizaveta and Roderich

Elizaveta jumped into the chair, tugging at Roderich all the time. "Wow, they really are rich!" "Eliza, please-" They had been invited to dinner by Mei, and now they stared at the splendid china set. "Suit yourselves." The very handsome man of thirty wasn't helping either. "Dinner!" The other members of the family went crazy at the sight of food. Elizaveta had started eating about three spoonfuls when she met a _glorious_ sight. "You're smearing food on the table." Kiku Honda glared at Ha Eung Lee, slapping the younger boy on the shoulder. "Well, _you're_ no better." The boy spat back at him, but Kiku pulled out a tissue and wiped the taller boy's mouth. "Wipe your mouth, please." ' _Yaoi! Yaoi!_ ' Noticing the girl's stare, the boys stopped bickering, then glanced at her in horror. "Roderich! Your girlfriend's going to have a concussion!" Wang Yao sighed, pulling out a tissue. "Here, this will stem a nosebleed." " _Oppa_ is soooooo considerate!" Ha Yeon Lee gave her brother a hug. "Please, Yeon-ah." The CEO didn't seem to mind. ' _Forbidden Romance!_ ' Elizaveta tried to stop her brain from thinking. This place was dangerous in many ways, as it stopped her from thinking normally.

-A MONTH LATER-

"So, why are you here, if you believe we are harmful to your physical well-being?" Leon stared at the couple as he managed another kung-fu move. "Because it's great for writing _doujinshi_!" Roderich clapped a hand over his girlfriend's mouth. "I enjoy the music." "What music? I only hear rucus from here-" There was a noise from the bathroom. "Baby, baby, baby, oh!" "That is the voice of the new maestro." Roderich sighed. It was heavenly singing. The door swung open, and Ha Eung, fresh and clean emerged to Roderich's horror and Leon's bemusement. "What the heck is wrong with him?" "Uh, nothing." All geniuses had problems, it wasn't a problem that the maestro was sadistic.

3) Alfred and Matthew

Alfred scraped the chair noisily. "So, thanks for inviting us, Yao!" Matthew almost face-palmed. What sort of an idiot called an adult by first-name? Yao gritted his teeth. For the sake of his sister, he needed to stay calm, but this _brat_ was so annoying. On the other hand, his brother Matthew was gentle and polite. "Yes, I hope you enjoy your dinner." Alfred spooned the food into his mouth, ignoring the chopsticks. "You idiot! You forgot the chopsticks!" Ha Yeon smacked the jock on the head, earning the laughs of everyone in the room. "I did not forget them!" "They sound like five-year-olds." Mei commented to Matthew, who nodded and sighed. "It's a good thing that their twins don't share their personality." Kiku pointed out, then stopped. "What." Ha Eung was playing with a carving knife on the dinner table, and Matthew-he looked like he wanted to disappear. "No, nothing." Yao clenched his fists under the table. This was going to be the _last_ dinner that included Alfred Jones.

-TWO MONTHS LATER-

"Why are you here?" Yao gave the hamburger-eater a meaningful look. "Well, Arthur's cooking isn't exactly, um, healthy. And you like Matthew, and since you invited Matt it would seem weird if I wasn't invited?" Alfred nearly kicked himself with frustration. _What did I just say? Excuse me, mind, what's wrong with you?_ "Come on, _oppa_ , be a good host." Ha Yeon gave the twins a reassuring smile. "Fine." Yao stormed over to the kitchen. He was going to give Jones dinner for one _last_ time, and it would be it. Too bad he had been thinking that for ten times since the first dinner.

4) Emil and Mathias

Emil glanced nervously around the dinner table. "Um, can we eat?" "Help yourselves!" Leon shoved a bowl of _ramen_ in their direction, which Emil took gratefully. "Hey, that's Honda's ramen!" Mathias froze. It was the most notorious psycho in the upper class, Lee Ha Eung. "Here. I don't think Honda will be happy if you eat his stuff." And with that the student took the bowl, replacing it with his own. "But you.." "I can share with my sis." Mathias smiled gratefully at the man. Perhaps he wasn't as bad as rumored.

-TWO DAYS LATER-

"Hi! You guys are staying for dinner?" "Yes." "Enjoy!" Mei and Ha Yeon, Leon's sisters waved as they left for some party. That left the men of the family. Kiku was staring into a comic book, Ha Eung was talking about something with his brother as he set the table, and Leon- "Wash your hands, people!"-brought the hand sanitizers. "We won't die of food poisoning, kid." "Please be quiet, _otuto._ I am reading a very important comic-" "-Which includes a smiley-faced-octopus." "Kids! Be nice!" Emil and Mathias smiled to each other, then gave Leon a thumbs-up. How their friend managed to live in a sitcom-like family, they had no idea, but it was fun.

5)And...

Ha Eung gazed bleary-eyed into outer space. Class was boring, and he hated his life. _Ten seconds. Nine. Eight. Seven. Six. Five. Four. Three. Two. One._ The bell rang, and students started to leave. The end of class. His sisters were going to the park, Kiku was going to some Comicon thing, Leon was watching a movie. "How am _I_ supposed to have dinner!" "Look, Nat, Older Brother has a schedule and a life. I'm sorry, but I think you're going to have to eat alone." Natalia Bradinski was shouting at her sister. "You can always eat with Toris-" "-Who is boring." Somehow, the girl reminded Ha Eung of himself. "She can eat with us. Me and Yao." Yekaterina looked scared at his voice. "Um, I don't think-" "I don't want to eat with you _and_ your miserable brother-" "Stop being a kid. Your family has a life. You can eat microwaved food for all I care about." He turned away, just as a knife sailed across the classroom, nailing the door. "If your brother's food is unhygenic-" "Yes, we'll pay your bills." Yekaterina gaped at the exchange. "Nat?" "I'm eating with the psycho." Ha Eung couldn't help smirking.

-A WEEK LATER-

"And that's _why_ she's eating?" Mei smiled at Ha Yeon. "Yes, supposedly." Leon muttered, shaking his head. "They're going to be the next Bonnie and Clyde at this rate." Kiku observed, from their hiding place. They had _pretended_ to be busy, and had snuck through the back door, watching the exchange between the Belarusian and Korean. "Eat your damn food." " _You_ eat your carrots. And you need some borscht." " _Children._ We do _not_ quarrel in front of food." The sulky pair immediately quieted at Yao's words. "We weren't quarreling." "And we're not children." Yao managed to keep a smile from his face. His brother had finally found a friend.

* * *

 **Author's Note: Did you guys enjoy the ficklets? Because...I am out of ideas...and I think there will be more ficklets like this until I find some more stories...Yeah.. And I really need to update my other story... Anyway, I have a lot of ideas relating to the ficklets so don't worry too much! I love you faithful readers!**


	16. In Which Their Daily Lives are Leaked-2

**AUTHOR'S NOTE:** Hello, everybody! Sorry for the late update!(chuckles nervously) I had an examination, and my mental power is crumbling now. Along with my grades. Also, thank you for the seven followers and seven favorites!:D I totally love you wonderful people! Especially **nonsensefics** and **Enchanting Grace** along with **Darby** , who reviewed! I really appreciate reviews and tips! But no flames, please...This is my first fic after all...Well, I bet you don't want to hear any more of the author's rambling! Let's get started with the actual fic, which is just ficklets like last time! Enjoy!

* * *

 _셋(Three). The Problem With Dance Dance Revolution_

"Na na na na~" Fuck that song. Yao banged his bead against the wall in desperation. It had been playing for thirty minutes nonstop. ' _Don't they ever get tired?_ ' Ha Yeon and Leon, the two youngest were downstairs, playing their _stu_ _pid_ game. He didn't want to know when they would quit. This had all happened two weeks ago when the twins had lugged a new game home. Namely "Dance Dance Revolution". And suddenly everyone was demanding to play. Normally it was a game between Ha Yeon and Kiku, since they were the people who watched the most vocaloid. Then Mei started to join in, as Ha Yeon was busy partying-and it was a battle between Mei and Kiku-and it changed abruptly to Ha Yeon and Leon. Yao groaned as he watched his siblings dancing to some crazy song, something about green onions.

"Won't you kids ever stop dancing?" It was Kiku. "Jealous?" Ha Yeon shouted over the music. "No, n...not exactly." "Stop being so tsundere, just join in." "Oi!" Leon had suddenly shouted. From his guess, Ha Yeon had left, leaving Kiku to dance. "Seriously, Lee-chan." Apparently Kiku had yielded, dancing in the girl's place. "Is _gege_ actually dancing?" Mei had joined the dancers from the look of it. "Nonono, you're not taking pictures of this-" "You're sooooo cute!" There was a sound of a camera flashing.

"SHUT UP, YOU MOTHERFUXXERS!" Ha Eung slammed his door, and Yao hurried downstairs-not wanting another fight between siblings. The male twin was glaring at his siblings, dark circles rimming his eyes. "What's with you?" Leon cocked his head in the middle of the song. Mei ignored the boy, still taking pictures of Kiku. "Sorry, Lee-kun-" "Seriously, bro, you need to chill." Ha Yeon brought a glass of water, and pressed it into the hand of her sibling. "Actually, his reaction is normal." Yao scratched the back of his head.

"What do you mean, this is normal?" Ha Yeon looked horrified. "You've been dancing for hours. And that screen is too flashy. The music is too loud. I'm not surprised the neighbors complained. Two times in a row." "Who cares?" Leon shrugged as he pressed the pause button. Yao glared at his siblings. "This is serious. You are banned from playing Dance Dance Innovation-" "-Revolution-" "-for a week." Yao, who had been expecting complaints, hurried upstairs before the youngsters started to complain. These arrogant children, bringing game machines home without permission-and he turned on his iPod, listening to 'Senbonzakura.'

It was 4am. There was a creak of a door in the Han Estate. A figure walked throughout the darkness, trying not to creak the floor. 'Please, please-' Said figure went downstairs, cautiously. Wang Yao stood at the edge of the staircase, suddenly tensing. No, he was not going downstairs to play! He was not going to play Dance Dance Evolution or whatever-he stopped. There was movement in the living room. A lot of movement.

Ha Eung stood there, no, he wasn't exactly standing. The Korean had a set of headphones on his ears, and he was _dancing_. Like it was the last dance of his life. The kid was practically sweating. Playing the dancing game. As the boy locked eyes with him, time seemed to freeze. Ha Eung froze, then said a four-lettered word that began with s and ended with t. "Shxt." The rest happened in a blur. In precisely sixty seconds, Ha Eung threw off his headphones, then skidded to the screen, turning off the game, and unplugged the headphones, wiping his head. "I was out for a drink of water."

"Really?" Yao strode over to the machine, and touched the back. "Hot, really." "Fine, I was playing. But what are you doing at this hour?" "I was out for coffee." The boy cracked a grin on his face. "Yes, and why do you have headphones?" Yao groaned. "It's none of your business." He took in the triumphant look that the other boy had. "Oh, the others won't be so happy to hear this." "Are you blackmailing me?" "Not exactly." Ha Eung smiled as he shook his head. "Two can play this game. Come on." Yao stared at the younger child with distress. "I didn't raise you to be a blackmailer." "I learned from the best." Yao's hand stretched out, and the screen was now on. He plugged in his set of headphones, and smiled. "You know what happens to the loser?" "Dishes." The air was growing thick with tension. He was going to bust this kid.

"Good morning, oppa!" Ha Yeon gave Yao a hug, then gaped. "What happened?" "What, dear sister?" "You look like a panda!" Yao rubbed at his eyes. He hated Ha Eung for bringing out his competitive edge. He _had not_ gone to bed at 5am. He _had not_ woken up later than usual. "Oh, it's nothing." There was a stumbling noise. "Hey." Leon nodded as Ha Eung walked in-no, stumbled in. "Howdy." The teen, slid into his chair, and fell out. Apparently, the kid had been sitting on the edge.

"Are you okay, Lee-kun?" Kiku looked _worried_. "Stop pretending to be worried." Ha Eung groaned, stood, then sat. "You look sleep-deprived, what have you been doing in night?" Mei gave him a concerned face. "Nothing." Ha Eung gave everyone a disgusted look. "Here. Breakfast." Yao laid out the dishes. As the kids began to eat, Yao sighed. _Really, Yao. Was it necessary to earn yourself such a dishonor?_

Breakfast was over, and Ha Yeon walked over to the kitchen, humming Kung Fu Beat. "No, Yeon. No need to do the dishes." "Huh?" Ha Yeon looked puzzled as her twin stopped her. "Older brother will do the dishes, right, _hyungnim_?" "Yes." Yao gnashed his teeth, pulling his gloves on. "In fact, he's doing the dishes for a whole _week_." "Why? He hates dishes." Kiku looked startled. "Oh, he just lost seven bets." Ha Eung smiled brightly, meaning nothing good. The head of the family just glared at the mountain of dishes. _HOW ON EARTH can you lose to seven songs? All seven songs?_

* * *

四( _S_ _ì). An Immune System to Love_

"Excuse me?" Yao stared at the bouquet that lay on his desk. A sunflower bouquet. "Someone left it at your desk." Yao glared at the bouquet, as if it was a dead rat. "This is an evil trick. There's a camera planted in this thing!" He was sure this was something sent by West Corp, or Nordic Industry. Possibly even the Russian Mafia. The CEO walked over to his desk, and carefully pulled out all of the thirty sunflowers. He checked out all thirty flowers with a hawk's eye, then sighed.

"Lien, throw this in the bin for me." "Well-" Lien, who knew the culprit, stopped from speaking out. She was actually feeling sorry for Ivan Bradinski. "This is a trick. A industrial spy probably planted something in this bouquet." "Of course, of course." The Vietnamese woman took the thing in one hand, and walked out of the CEO's office. Five minutes later, a brokenhearted Ivan watched as Yao's bodyguard threw the bouquet in the bin.

 _ONE YEAR LATER_

"Your brother is immune to love." Lien explained to the siblings, as they gathered for an outing. "He's not the only one immune." Mei explained, as she nudged Lien to look in another direction. "Why are you looking at me?" Kiku looked curious. "He has no idea." Ha Yeon smirked at her older brother. "But I don't-" "I'll take over for now." And she began to show the renowned play, _Kiku, Who is Hopeless in Love_ to a bemused Lien.

 _"Kiku, Kiku!" Kiku's heart started to beat fast. It was Hercules, his crush for forever. The beautiful teen ran toward him, his face flushed. "Do you have time tomorrow?" "Well, I have P.E homework, and there's the Japanese translation, and I need to prepare for the Comicon-" "Oh." The Greek looked unhappy. "I'm going to see the Phantom of the Opera." "Really?" His voice was a little too high. "Yes, but since you can't go, I should ask someone else." As Hercules turned, Kiku shouted out loud. "Hercules!" "Yes?" "Um..Enjoy your play." "Sure." And Kiku was left to think about his idiocy._

"You're rich to talk." Kiku gave his sister a dirty look. "Well, I don't have any boys to be concerned about." The girl tossed her hair over her back. "I mean, you should have said 'I'm quite busy but I can always give time for you.'." Ha Eung snorted. "What was that?" "Hey, Lien-noona, she's more hopeless than Kiku." "How hopeless is she?" Lien cocked her head. "Well, it was just yesterday-"

 _"Yeon!" Ha Yeon looked up from her cubicle, as she pulled out her textbooks. It was her friend since a year ago, Alfred Jones. He was waving at her, then he sauntered over. "What?" Alfred smiled wide, then casually opened his mouth._ _"Did you get your license suspended for driving so many guys crazy?" "I don't even have a driver's license, that's why you're driving me to school." Ha Yeon didn't exactly get what he was saying. "O...okay." Why did he look so disappointed? It wasn't her fault she didn't have a car._

"I really don't get what he says sometimes. He starts acting weird once every week." Lien tried to resist from laughing. "You guys are all hopeless. No wonder all of you don't have any boys or girls you bring home." "Well, Ha Eung has a girl he brings home." Mei pointed that fact out. "Who? Natalia Bradinski?" Leon laughed out loud. "She's weird, she's always chasing after her brother-" "-says the pyromaniac." Ha Eung snarled at his brother. "Hey, he sided with Bradinski!"

Lien smacked the back of Leon's head. "Be nice. They're your family, and it's not your fault that you don't have a boy-" "I do!" "Oh, really?" Lien would rather believe that Kiku had given up his life as an otaku. But Leon looked very upset. "Oh, you mean that Emil kid?" Kiku seemed to understand. "Come on, none of you will confess to each other! You're hopeless!" Ha Yeon patted her brother's head.

 _It had been two days ago. He had not meant to read his brother's cell phone messages, and yet he was looking straight at Leon's messages to Emil._

 _'Hey, I need to tell you something.'-Emil to Leon_

 _'What is it? Is it a-'-Leon to Emil_

 _'No, it's not a confession, because it would be totally weird, and we're not gay!'-Emil to Leon_

 _'Oh. Yeah, I'm totally cool about it.'-Leon to Emil_

 _'So, um, do you want to go to the theater with me?'-Emil to Leon_

 _'Cool. See you later, hon.'-Leon to Emil_

 _'Hon?'-Emil to Leon_

 _'SPELLING MISTAKE!'-Leon to Emil_

 _Ha Eung stopped from face-palming. They really were a lost cause. Avoiding confession wasn't going to help them in the long run._

"You kids all take after Yao, even though you're not exactly related." Lien had to speak her mind. "You kids are cruel." It was Yao, holding his briefcase. "We are not cruel." "Isn't it obvious that Emil wants you to initiate the relationship?" Yao chuckled. "This one doesn't have a romantic bone in his entire body." "Says the person who threw sunflowers in the bin!" Whoops. Yao gave Lien a dirty look. "I'm lowering your pay." "Come on, you don't know romantic even if it stared at you in the face!" Lien snorted at her boss. "I don't care." Too bad he did care.


	17. The Super Dramatic Halloween Party

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: Okay, thank you for the eight favorites and the nine follows! Did I tell you that you guys totally rock? And I think it's Prussia-awesome that this thing has been viewed more than a thousand times!(wipes tears) Wow. I love you people. I was originally planning to post this on Halloween, but I had a bunch of team projects, an English play, and a French play rehearsal. School is not working the way I planned it, and Writer's Block is capturing me. But I really hope you enjoy this! Thank you so much for reading this utter crap that isn't even fluffy or humorous!**

* * *

Halloween had always been an excruciating day for Ha Eung. He had never liked the day, filled with stupid costumes and trick or treating. This just wasn't his thing. And yet, he had allowed himself to be dragged into _this_. "Look, Ha Eung! Don't you think this totally suits me?" Mei and Ha Yeon were giddily sifting through stupid, dorky, costumes and he just face-palmed. "Just pick anything and go." "Really?" Mei hummed as she searched the rack. "Nah, this place sucks." Ha Yeon snapped. "Well, you should have ordered from ebay or something." His twin was such a bother.

"Kiku's already ordered his costume from ebay. Geez, I should have been faster." Leon sighed, while Ha Eung just tapped his feet. "You know, I don't have good feelings about this Halloween party thing that our school has." Their school always had a dance-party for Halloween. He had managed to skip the last party, due to his injury thanks to Kiku. According to Mei, his sister hadn't minded going as Wonderwoman with the burger-eating jerk. Well, he minded that she actually had a good time without him, and he knew he had to go. He _was_ her brother, and Yao would be flipping if anything happened to her. With hamburger jerk. And so, he too, would have to go to the party.

"Hey, Ha Eung, here's an awesome costume for you!" He glanced at the black costume with the monocle and shook his head. "No Arsène Lupin for me." "Sherlock?" "No." "Jack the Ripper?" "Nope." "Asterix?" "Never!" "Kim Jeong Un-" "Tell me you're joking." After two more hours of exhausting shopping, Mei and Leon had bought their costumes. His sister would be Fa Mulan, and his younger brother Jackie Chan. Ha Yeon seemed to have other ideas about her outfit. "I hope this means you aren't going." "Nope. We're _both_ going, and you're going to be the _hottest_ guy in the whole school, trust me-" The last time he trusted her, he ended up in a skirt, a wig and people thought he was a girl. He decided not to mention _that_.

* * *

The school never seemed to end, the following day. Mei drummed her fingers against the desk, next to a smiling Elizaveta. "I'm so excited!" The Hungarian giggled behind her hand, and Mei knew why. She had acquired a new camera, and the girl was going to film any R-rated-ahem!-compromising scenes with it. "So, what did you pick?" "I want to be Mulan! You know-" "-The Disney princess who fights! She's awesome!" Elizaveta gave her the thumbs up, then lowered her voice. "Um, about your sister and brothers, what are they wearing?" "I don't know about the twins, although Leon is going to be Jackie Chan." "No, not the twins, the _other brother_." Mei gulped.

It had been a bad idea to tell Elizaveta about her secret crush, during Truth or Dare. The stupid sleepover, which had consisted of Eliza's anime reruns, and Lilli's consistent talks about their siblings, had been a mistake. "Uh..." "Come on, tell me what Honda's wearing! I hope he wears a dress, he'll look supercute!" Eliza gushed, but Mei just sighed. She didn't like thinking about Kiku in a dress-that would only make Hercules like Kiku more. "Oooh, guess what Roderich's wearing today!" And so the topic moved on to Eliza's boyfriend, and Mei just nodded, and laughed along.

Matthew looked across the classroom, at his brother sleeping during class. The idiot had spent the previous day on the internet, searching for a costume that would totally appeal to his heroic side. He had advised Alfred to just wear the Superman costume, but Arthur had informed them that it had stretched in the wash, and so his brother had sat in front of the computer the entire day. Now he had acquired a costume, and was sleeping peacefully in class next to- "Miss Lee!" The Latin teacher, Romulus Vargas had called Ha Yeon out.

"Yes, sir?" The Korean looked worried, as the teacher rarely called people out during his class. Latin was the only class where you could enjoy your life, and Mr. Vargas was known for being witty, humorous and flirty. Now he sounded far from humor. "Tell Mr. Jones to get up, he's been sleeping for far too long." Ha Yeon nodded, then gave Alfred a karate kick. "Hey, what was that for!" Alfred, wiping his drool, and rubbing his eyes gave his friend a look of apprehension. Somehow, Matthew didn't like the tone of his brother's voice, but Ha Yeon whispered something and the boy laughed carelessly. He couldn't help a sense of envy.

Ha Eung, unlike the rest of his classmates was wishing that class would never end. This was all because of his sister. He was going to kill her, and take 60% of Asia Corp, and build a missile to launch at Jones and Honda. It was all her fault. He groaned as he thought about what lay in wait for him at his locker. He sincerely wished that he had chosen a simple tux and tie the previous day, just like Leon-now he was going to be the laughingstock of the entire school again. It was all her bloody fault-The bell rang. "Seriously!" And for the first time in his school career, Ha Eung stood up before class was dismissed, earning everyone's laughter.

* * *

"How was school?" Yao asked his siblings as they returned, standing in front of the house. "I have to get prepared, bye!" Ha Yeon threw her costume and cosmetics over her shoulder, bolting the door of her room. "Wonderful, nisan." Kiku smiled, noticing a box lying in wait for him. "Now, if you won't mind-" The oldest sibling nodded and Kiku left to his room as well. Leon took his clothes and walked off to the bathroom, while Mei went upstairs, to prepare with her sister. Yao heard Ha Yeon's door click open for Mei, then close once more. He gave his remaining brother a grim look. "I told you you should have chosen before Ha Yeon chose for you." "Yeah." Ha Eung dragged his feet off to his room.

"Okay, we can get this done." Mei quickly undressed, then pulled out her Mulan outfit. "Mei, are you sure you bought the right size?" Ha Yeon stared at the size. "Yes, this is Small, and I wear Small-" "-This is too small!" And it was, to her infinite horror. As Mei tried the dress on, she nearly felt the need of air. "This-thing-" "-is going to go." Her sister pulled the outfit off her, and Mei gave her a muffled 'thanks'. "Well, you can't go to the party without a costume. We need to get you something." Mei thought about it, then got an idea. "Hey, what if I just wear a traditional Hanfu, and say-" "-Genius! Now let's get started!" They got to work.

Kiku studied himself. Apparently, he was now Ciel Phantomhive from _Kuroshintoji_ , and he enjoyed seeing his reflection in the mirror. Feli was being a tomato, while Ludwig was going to be a potato. There was a knock on his door, and as he opened it, his siblings came bickering in. "I _hate_ her." That was from Ha Eung. "I never asked." And that was Leon. The youngest member of the family was done with his costume, but not the second youngest. "Who are you going as?" "The Death Messenger. Or _Jeo-seung-sa-ja_." His brother struggled with his black hanbok, and Kiku laughed at it, then leaned in to help. "Stop squirming, I'll finish it for you." "Yeah. In a million years..." At least Ha Eung wasn't trying to hit him.

When his brothers emerged, Yao clapped for them earnestly. Then, he got a better idea. "What are you doing?" "Don't tell me you're taking pictures of us!" "Nisan, please-" He just couldn't help it! Leon looked very cool in his outfit, whereas Kiku was adorable in his, looking a lot like the count of the anime he loved so much. Ha Eung-if death looked like this, Yao knew the world's suicide rate would go up. "Come on, one more picture-" "Please, _gege_!" There was a commotion from the room upstairs. A scream. "Do you think we need to check on them?" Kiku cast a concerned look upwards, but the others knew better. "Just, let's go. I don't want to be accused of being a pervert." So the three brothers were off. "Ah, Shinatty-chan, my siblings are all grown up." Yao hugged his beloved doll, smiling.

* * *

Natalia was one of the first people to arrive in the hall. Her outfit of Elizabeth Vatori along with Yekaterina's costume as Empress Yekaterina had been very time-consuming, yet satisfactory. "Is there anyone worth my time here?" "Natalia! Don't be so rude!" Yekaterina looked concerned, and her sister adjusted her mantle. "Do you think I look good?" "No." Her sister just laughed off-perhaps she'd spent too much time with Lee Ha Yeon, acting like that _prissy_ cheerleader. Speaking of Lee... Natalia shook her head. _You've got to be kidding me, delusional mind._ She herself had spent too many evenings at the Han Estate, and she couldn't deny she enjoyed eating every so often at the place. Wang Yao was not _that_ horrible, and the food was superb. And there was Lee Ha E-"I don't care about that loser!"

Yekaterina was giving her a very concerned look. "What loser?" Natalia gritted her teeth. This was all because of that Korean, she would string him upside down like a ham. "It's nothing, sestra. Nothing." Her sister nodded, not looking convinced. "Oh, really, it's _nothing_." It was all very easy to say, but no, it wasn't easy to think about. The way the boy wielded his kitchen knife, the cool look and haughtiness built like an aura around him, and those eyes filled with superiority. _He's nothing like big brother! You love him, not this pathetic loser!_ Natalia had hated the boy before, but now she wanted to kill him for making her feel confused.

The door swung open, and Natalia turned around sharply. "Luddy, where's the fooood?" "Feliciano, _please_ , everyone's watching us." "Ludwig-kun, Feliciano-kun, perhaps we're loud-" The three former leaders of the Axis had arrived, talking loudly to each other. Natalia caught one very familiar face. Kiku Honda, Lee's brother, looked very embarrassed in his outfit. It didn't matter. Natalia promptly power-walked towards the boy, ignoring her sister's horrified expression. "Honda!" The senior nearly jumped. "What is it, Bradinski-san?" "Where in the hell is your brother?" "Yao's at home-" "No, the _idiot_." Kiku blinked, then comprehension seemed to hit him. "Oh, if you're talking about Ha Eung-" "Of course I'm talking about the delusional psycho!" Feliciano _quailed._ "Don't tell her, Kiku! She's going to kill your little brother-" "He's here." The door opened once more, and Lee Ha Eung walked in with his brother. He immediately took in the sight in front of him, then _smirked_. ' _You are going to die, Lee Ha Eung._ ' She could bet all her money that he had heard her asking for him.

* * *

Alfred sighed, he had been standing outside the Han Estate for quite a time. And it was freezing. "Dude, why is she taking so much time?" He ignored Gilbert, as he saw Ha Yeon's light turn off in her room. Soon enough he could hear the sound of heels pounding down the staircase, and Yao's voice, then the door opened. "Hi!" Mei, Ha Yeon's sister was looking stunnning in Chinese traditional clothing. "Whoa, whoa, look who's here!" "I borrowed this from Yao, isn't it pretty?" Alfred nodded, he had to admit the dress was intricate. "Who are you?" "She's a crossdresser who wants to be a man." There was a moment of silence at his best friend's appearance. He had seen Yeon wearing a hanbok, but this was...well, the upper part of the garb was too short, even though the skirt was still normal. She also had a very strange cap on her head-traditional-and was holding a pipe. Alfred opened his mouth to comment on her _very short garb that was practically going to make all of the guys drool(really, Yeon? Why is your jeogori that short?)_ but no words came out.

"How do I look?" Alfred stuttered. "Um, uh, uh.." "Captain America, just because you were stuck in the ice for a bunch of years doesn't mean you get the excuse to say um and uh." Ha Yeon prodded at his chest with her pipe, giving him a smile. "You look very stunning." It was _not_ his voice but someone else's. Alfred whipped around and saw Matthew. His twin, for some reason looked more sophisticated, more regal, more gentle than he could ever be. Without his glasses, wearing contacts and a Victorian outfit along with a tall hat, Matthew outshone Gilbert's costume as the Devil, along with his own. "Hi, Matthew." _Was it just him, or did the Korean actually sound a little shy?_ "Hi, Yeon." Mei laughed behind her fan. "Anyway, what are you?" Alfred moved on, as he didn't like this situation. His brother outshining him, talking with his best friend like she was _his_ , very unpleasant. "Hwang-jin." Ha Yeon smirked. "Who the _heck_ is that, Lee?" Gilbert sounded curious. He knew who this lady was, he had done an essay about influential Asian Women with Yeon-Alfred grinned and opened his mouth. "A infamous _femme fatale_." Again. Matthew. "And who are you, sir?" "Dr. Jekyll, pleased to make your acquaintance." "Okay, enough with the introductions, let's go." Alfred snapped, turning abruptly to the car. He was going to have a serious talk with his brother about his friend.

* * *

Leon saw Natalia Bradinski giving his brother the death glare, and tugged at Ha Eung. "Man, perhaps you shouldn't provoke her-" "What did I even do?" Ha Eung shrugged off, taking a cup from the drink corner and pouring himself Grape juice. "Want a cup?" "Dude, you think Grape juice is important when Natalia Bradinski's giving you the look?" "What look?" "The _I'm-going-to-bloody-kill-you-but-I-want-to-fuck-you-look_?" Ha Eung chortled. "She doesn't care two hoots about me. Now, lover boy, run off to Emil. He's been waiting for you since forever." Oh. Emil stood there, near the entrance, gazing at the pair of them. Leon nodded, then walked over to Emil. "Your brother looks happy." Emil's voice was quiet, and Leon laughed. "Him? He's probably looking for someone to kill." The Nordics all burst into laughter. "Come on, this is a party. Are we here for chitter-chatter?" That came from Felix. "I suppose not." Leon took Emil's hand-his brother could manage well without him. The doors opened again, and Emil gave him a look. "Your sisters are here." "Yup, who cares?" And they were on the dance floor for once.

Ha Eung had been happily minding his own business as he stared at his brother on the dance floor when someone pushed a knife onto his throat. "You-you!" He ignored the blade, pushing it away. "Kindly take the knife away from my throat, I haven't even got a chance to drink." Natalia Bradinski snarled at him. "What do you think you are, making-" "I think of myself as worthless. Why be bothered?" Ha Eung picked up a cup, poured orange juice into it and handed Natalia the cup. "Here, drink." "I don't want your _fucking_ orange juice, and I don't want your sympathy. Don't you even make that _worthless_ expression at me!" Natalia crossed her arms, sheathing her blade. Ha Eung sighed, then stared at her fully in the face. "What's wrong with you, you're not acting like your usual cruel self." Natalia bit her lower lip, and lowered her face. "What's going on, didn't take your meds or something?" Something seemed to fall down with a plop on the floor. "What's happening, you aren't crying, are y-" Suddenly his cheek stung. "You _fucking_ idiot! I wish you were dead!" Natalia glared at him, her eyes shining. The couples in the room were staring at them. "I fucking want to kill you!" And with that she stormed out. Ha Eung turned on the others in the room. "What are you staring at? Do you want me to _dig your eyes out_?" The others eventually returned to their dancing, as Ha Eung ran off-he was sure she'd kill someone in this rate.

"What's wrong with them?" Ha Yeon mused. "Clearly they're crazy." Alfred shook his head, staring at Ha Eung's retreating figure. "Well, thanks for bringing me!" Mei smiled as Elizaveta approached her. Sure enough, her friend had a camera. "Oh my god, that is the most hentai outift I ever saw!" Mei nearly groaned. Out of all words, why did Eliza have to say that to Yeon? "Um, thanks?" "We need to take pictures of you!" "Uh...What?" "Just three pictures! For our yearbook and school newspaper!" _And for your doujinshi_ , Mei thought but knew better than to tell her sister. "Okay!" Her sister smiled and made a normal V-pose, but Eliza shook her head. "No, no, no!" "What, then?" "Okay, Alfred, lower that stupid shield of yours, and put your arm around her waist or something."

"No way I'm doing that!" Alfred stuttered, but Mei saw him blush. "Come on, lover boy, just one shot, it's not like you're actually going out or something." The jock grumbled like forever, and finally wrapped his arm around the girl's neck. "Okay, cheese!" Elizaveta was on the point of a massive nosebleed. "Horray, can we go now?" "Um, actually, can Matthew take a picture with Yeon?" "Sure." The other twin, to Elizaveta's shock and Alfred's distaste, struck a more intimate pose with Ha Yeon- _was the Korean turning red?_ "Okay, say cheese!" As soon as the picture was snapped, Alfred grabbed Yeon by the wrist, his face furious. "Great, he's pissed up." Gilbert gave Elizaveta a grin. "Oooh, this is going to be perfect for my doujinshi-" "All you can think about is doujinshi when they're about to have a fight?" Roderich looked horrified.

"What was _that_ about?" Alfred, hands on hips, towered over Ha Yeon, bellowing out loud. The people who had started to enjoy themselves after Natalia's outburst all turned toward their direction, ignoring the music. "What, me taking a photo with your brother? What's the problem with a photo?" Ha Yeon laughed casually. "A photo?" Alfred threw his Captain America shield at the wall, and the shield hit poor Toris, but Alfred, in his anger ignored it. "That stupid photo looks like some crap that should be in the cover of Maxim, not an innocent photo!" Ha Yeon snorted at him. "Look, why are you even acting like this? Do you know you sound like some kind of five year old?" "Well, you're _my_ best friend not _his_!"

It was then when a hand landed on both of their shoulders. "Alfred-kun, you're acting like a toddler. Perhaps you need some air." Kiku, who had been dancing with Hercules pried the American away. "I AM NOT ACTING LIKE A TODDLER, I'M THE HERO OF OUR HIGHSCHOOL-" "And you're spoiling everyone's fun." Ludwig snapped at the boy as well, and Alfred looked ashamed. "Let's go out and have a break or something." Ha Yeon put a hand on Alfred's shoulder. "Okay." Matthew, who had been looking at the entire scene, felt contempt for his brother and guilt towards Ha Yeon.

* * *

"Hey, Bradinski!" Ha Eung was yelling at the top of his lungs, and it was very uncomfortable. His voice was at the point of breaking. "Bradinski! Come out! Where the hell are you!" It was just when he passed an empty classroom, when he saw the shadow of a familiar dress. "Bradinski, there you are!" "Go. Away." Natalia's voice sounded very dry. "Get out of that dingy place, I cannot even see you." "Leave me alone!" "Well, so sorry to bother you." Ha Eung walked into the classroom, and gave Natalia an impassive stare. "What was with that slap?" "Nothing! Just go away!" "Tell me." Natalia sighed. "Fine. I don't want to eat dinner with your family anymore." "Okay." Ha Eung nodded. He had enjoyed eating with her, talking with her, being treated like a normal human being, but he'd return to his position as a recluse. "I don't want to see you anymore." "Fine." _You're not fine, and you_ _know it._ Ha Eung studied his hanbok sleeve, black. It was a good thing his hat had a brim, so that she couldn't read his expression.

As he turned, a knife hit the wall next to him. "You idiot!" He didn't get girls at all. "You wanted me to leave, you didn't want to see me at all. I'm leaving, can't you see?" In two strides, the girl had walked over. "You are a bloody fool." She prodded him on the chest, as he rolled his eyes. "Don't you see what the problem is?" "What is this problem?" "You...you make me so _confused_ , and you have to be so cool about everything, what are you, a machine? And I'm not even sure if I can hate you! What do you think you are, playing with other people's hearts! I don't even care for you, I care about older brother and _sestra_ and that's about it-"

Ha Eung did the unthinkable. In three seconds, he drew the girl into his arms. "What do you think you're doing, you _pervert_!" Natalia thrashed, and kicked him on the shin. "This is something called _hugging_ , and this is very neutral." He sighed, then drew away. "This is _not_ betraying your bloody brother. I do _not_ intend on making you uncomfortable, I've had that _you make people uncomfortable shit_ from my own sister." As he walked out onto the corridor, a hand clasped into his. "Where do you _think_ you're leaving me?" "Excuse me?" Natalia did not look him in the eye. "The party's waiting." Ha Eung smiled, wide. "Yes, Lady Vatori. Shall we?" "Of course, villain dressed in black." As she walked next to him, Natalia smiled unknowingly.

"Wow, they're _intense_." Two figures hidden in the shadows conversed to each other. The taller one, namely Captain America cracked a grin at the Villainous Pair. "Poor Toris." "What do you mean, poor Toris?" The shorter one, dressed in Oriental Hanbok gave the hero a confused expression. "He's liked Bradinski for _ages_ , but it seems your brother's going to be the one." "Oh, poor guy." The two had gone out for air, as Kiku had suggested, and they had been talking. They had _not_ expected that. "Well, he's lucky." "What do you mean, he's lucky?" Ha Yeon furrowed her brow. "She's a psycho." "They're both crazy, but at least they got close to confessing." Alfred sighed. "Why, do you have someone in mind?" "NO, of course _not_!" Although she was no expert, Ha Yeon knew that the boy was lying. He had this blush in his face, and this dreamy look in his eyes.

"Okay." If he didn't want to tell her, then it couldn't be her. Their friendship would be the end of their relationship. She mentally scolded herself. _He's a jock, a popular jock! Girls and boys would kill for him!_ Then what about all the times he had helped her, playing games together, going to karaoke? What about the day he brought her homework? They _had_ kissed, wasn't that something? _Actually, you initiated it, Ha Yeon. And it was a peck on the cheek._ She'd have to give up on him, he probably thought of her as a good friend, a fling, nothing more. _He must really love her, this girl._ She would be okay, even if Alfred went out with this girl. _Then why is he so possessive of me? He really is selfish._

Alfred looked at his friend. She looked displeased. _Did she find out? She can't find out now, this is going to be awkward! I just got to be best friends with her, it's bloody unfair!_ "Come on, let's go inside. The others are possibly having a blast." "Yes, a blast." As they walked back in, he tried to initiate small talk, but she just wouldn't answer him. _I'm not the one who was flirting with my best friend's brother!_ His heart started to harden. "I'm actually feeling jealous of my brothers." He turned at her words. "Why so? You're the best off!" "At least their crushes or to-be-lovers actually _like_ them for a change." And Ha Yeon disappeared into the dance floor. _Wait, what?_

* * *

Kiku's eyes narrowed. There was his brother, who was actually dancing with Bradinski, his hand on her waist. He looked happy for a change. And there was his sister. "Did the twins change personalities or something?" Feliciano piped up next to him. Sure enough, Alfred was not beside Ha Yeon, who was over at the drink stands, pouring herself booze. "Is she _allowed_ to drink?" Ludwig gazed at the rather-large-cup the junior was holding. "Okay, we need to stop her from getting plastered. Yao's going to _kill_ me if she pukes." Hercules nodded. As they walked over to the younger Asian, someone intercepted their path. Matthew. Matthew started talking with her, then took away her cup. "Hey!" The Canadian smiled, and talked some more. Kiku sighed in relief as Matthew said something to her, and Ha Yeon nodded. Soon, they were dancing along with the other couples.

"I'm going to kill that _twit_." They all turned, and Feliciano smiled. "Alfreeeed!" Alfred just nodded to him, looking as if he wanted to kill someone. "Alfred-kun, what is it?" "Matthew's been a total jerk! He _knows_ I like her, and he's been flirting with her for the entire evening! What is she to him, some toy or something?" Ludwig shook his head. "You are hopeless, aren't you?" Kiku thought this was kind of like the comics he read. It was a cheesy love triangle, only the boy was out of clues. "Hi!" Mei walked over to them, smiling a little bit too wide. "Mei, are you _drunk_?" His sister nodded, smiling wide. "I can see _why_ Yeon drinks, this is super!" "Careful, your sister always gets hangovers." Ludwig gave Kiku a look of pity. "And I thought _one_ sibling was horrible."

Hercules pulled a chair out for Mei. "Sit, you won't be able to walk straight." Mei glared at Hercules for some reason, and pouted. "No, I don't want _your_ chair!" Why his sibling was so rude to his crush, Kiku had no idea. "Mei, please be reasonable." "Here, sit down." Ludwig pulled out another chair, and this time Mei sat, giggling at nothing in particular. "I don't think your sister likes me." Hercules whispered to Kiku. "She's being ridiculous, and drunk." Kiku managed a smile. "It's okay. It's not her fault that she's bad with handling her liquor." The Greek ruffled his hair, and Kiku, blushing, gave him a hug. "Hey, you'll ruin my Zeus outfit!" But he knew Hercules didn't mind. "This is gross." Gilbert wrinkled his face, ewwing. "Look, Luddy! Let's do that, to!" Feliciano threw his arms around the German before the other could protest. "Well, maybe we should stop. There are people having love issues here-" Kiku turned to the spot where Alfred was-no, _had been._ "Where is he?"

* * *

Alfred walked over to the DJ. "Yo, Al." Ralph Kirkland, one of Arthur's far relatives stood there. The guy was one of the jocks, the cool kids who were in the swim team or something. "I need your help." "What sort of help?" Alfred whispered in the teen's ear, and Ralph's body spasmed with laughter. "Really?" "Sincerely." "Wow, this kid must be worth a lot." "Just do it." "Okay, then. Drinks on the next party's on you." "Okay." Now he needed to find Yeon, before Ralph kept his promise. Alfred, in his Captain America suit searched high and low for a familiar hanbok, red silk. _I found her._ He rushed over, running into other couples. "Sorry, coming through." This was important.

"This is great!" Ha Yeon smiled as Matthew dipped her. It was good, good to forget about her best friend-crush- for once. To be with someone who thought she mattered. Alfred would never like her back, she should have known, she was stupid-"Yeon!" "Alfred?" Ha Yeon stopped in mid-dance. It was him, in his blue costume, out of breath, smiling. "What are you doing here?" Matthew gave Alfred a look, but Alfred ignored his brother. "Come here, I need to show you something-" "What is it?" "Come! This is very important!" "Um, I'll be right back." Ha Yeon waved at Matthew, then followed Alfred.

"Why are we going to the center stage?" "Because you owe me a dance. We were supposed to dance together, forgot it, wise girl?" Ha Yeon thought of saying yes, but no, she couldn't forget it. She had been looking forward to it. But then it really didn't matter. He didn't like her the way she did. He liked that girl from Belgium, or Yekaterina, or Mei-he had said she was pretty-or Lilli who was cute. The song stopped, and the DJ cut in. It was how parties worked. DJs made comments, the song played, and couples danced. "Okay, this is a song requested by our school's one and only hero! He said he's going to buy me booze if I play this-it's obviously for romantic purposes, but he won't tell me much!" The crowd exploded-"Who is it about?" "What's the song?" The DJ-Ralph snickered. "Oh, it's _their_ song according to the kid." And the music was on.

* * *

 _"Puttin' my defenses up, cause I don't wanna fall in love, if I ever did that, I think I'd have a heart attack."_ Heart Attack. The high schoolers knew this song well enough, and the cheer went up. _"Never put my love out on the line, never said "Yes" to the right guy, never had trouble getting what I want,but when it comes to you, I'm never good enough."_ Alfred had taken her hand, and was silently singing the lyrics. He was handsome, popular, smart when he could be. He came from a good family, and yet he had never felt good enough, whenever he went to the Han Estate. Yao always disliked him, and Ha Eung despised him. He'd never match the standards that Yeon's family had.

 _"_ _When I don't care, I can play 'em like a Ken doll. Won't wash my hair, then make 'em bounce like a basketball. But you make me wanna act like a girl, paint my nails and wear high heels. Yes, you make me so nervous that I just can't hold your hand."_ This was Kiku's song as well. It was easy to talk to the others without the effort to charm them, but whenever he was with Hercules, he'd say something dumb, turn red, and feel like a complete idiot. He'd spent days slicing his pillows with his katana in pure embarrassment.

 _"You make me glow, but I cover up, won't let it show. So I'm puttin' my defenses up, 'cause I don't wanna fall in love, if I ever did that, I think I'd have a heart attack."_ As the male Korean twirled her around, Natalia felt odd. She felt full, plentiful, elated. If this was what it felt like-no, it w _asn't_ , it couldn't be-she didn't want to fall in love with _him._ Even if this was true. She would lie, put up barrier after barrier-because she didn't want him to turn on her like older brother. She didn't want to get hurt.

 _"Never break a sweat for the other guys, when you come around, I get paralyzed. And every time I try to be myself, it comes out wrong like a cry for help. It's just not fair, pain's more trouble than love is worth. I gasp for air, it feels so good, but you know it hurts."_ She was good with boys, and she would always be categorized as popular. But whenever he was around, she'd say stuff that was meaningless, stupid, and he'd laugh like crazy. Loving him was trouble, for all of the jealousy she'd had to feel, the misery, the loneliness. Ha Yeon gazed into the blue eyes of her _friend_ , singing along.

 _"You make me glow, but I cover up, won't let it show. So I'm puttin' my defenses up, 'cause I don't wanna fall in love, if I ever did that, I think I'd have a heart attack."_ Leon would always wonder why he'd started liking the European boy, who was mysterious and cool. He'd always known one thing for sure. He was good at pretending that he felt nothing for Emil. He was a coward, and he'd never fess up, or confess. What if he messed everything up?

 _"The feelings got lost in my lungs, they're burning, I'd rather be numb. And there's no one else to blame. So scared I take off and I run, I'm flying too close to the sun, and I burst into flames."_ Mei had always watched from the sidelines, had kept her adoration silent. It hurt that she wasn't brave. It was stinging that Kiku was family by choice. It broke her heart and ripped it out, that he loved someone else. And that someone wasn't even a girl. She picked up a glass of juice. She knew it, he was never hers.

* * *

As the song ended slowly before escalating once more, the room burst into applause. There was silence in some corners of the room, however. Such as the center where Jones and Lee were standing, or the edge where Bradinski and Lee were. The stage on which Wang and Steilsson were sitting was quiet as well. The only happy person among the Five Asian Stars of the school was Honda, who was having a tender moment with Karpusi-as Gilbert saw. He half-smiled, as he saw Heatherberry kissing the Austrian he despised. _She's at least happy._

"So, what time is it?" Alfred asked Ha Yeon without quite looking at her. "Eight." "And when does this end?" "Ten?" "Good, we still have two more hours to dance." "But I told Matthew that-" "You're _my date_ , not Matthew's. And heros don't wait forever." Ha Yeon sighed. This, she guessed was the closest she'd ever get to a confession from him. It suddenly hit her. "Hey, Al?" "Uh-huh?" "That song, why did you say it was our song?" "Because it is." And he gave her a dazzling grin, that sent her heart spinning. _The things you do that make me love you._

"Hi." Mei felt a tap on her shoulder. It was Matthew. "Hurts, doesn't it?" "What?" Matthew pointed at Kiku, oblivious in his own happiness, leaning into Hercules-no, the Greek had pulled her brother close. "Well, I should have given up before. It was never supposed to be." Mei tried to smile, but she failed. "I think you should give up for her sake, too." The boy's purple eyes seemed to bore into his brother and her sister. "I'm not a coward." "I never said you were." Mei excused herself, wondering what would happen to her sister. Matthew somehow didn't seem like the quiet, polite boy she knew.

"I refuse to believe it." Yekaterina heard her brother's furious voice from the other side of the phone. She had sent Ivan a photo of Natalia dancing with Ha Eung. "He's not a bad person, and he-" "He's _not allowed_ to be with her!" "This is really selfish of you. Don't you want Nat to be happy? And besides, he's a good influence. Natalia hasn't been bugging you, has she?" There was a long silence. "Poor Toris." Ivan's voice was calmed now. "Yes, poor Toris." Yekaterina turned off the phone, staring at her sister, who had turned an unusal shade of pink. _I don't know what I'm doing, Natalia. I hope you know what you're doing._ _And Toris... Oh, Toris._

"Well, when do you think Hercules will tell him what he wants to hear?" Feliciano asked Ludwig, his voice excited. "I don't know." Ludwig seriously didn't know what would become of their friend Kiku. He was a person who enjoyed his privacy, and they were sure he wouldn't be grateful of them prying into his love life. "They'd make a pretty couple." He had to agree, his boyfriend was right. Kiku, who was a dog person, who was quiet, was well balanced with Hercules, the ultimate cat person. "There is one thing I know." It was Antonio, who had been passing with Lovino. "What is it?" "We are the _best_ couple in the room!" Lovino facepalmed. "Shut up, you bastard, everyone's staring at us-" "No, they're all too busy with their own romances!" Feliciano stared up at Ludwig at these words. "Feliciano, please, this is a public place-" It was too late. They were already kissing. _School rules be damned..._

* * *

Yao stared at the photo. "This is why you came here?" Ivan shrugged. "It seemed like a good excuse." The photo was of his brother, and Natalia Bradinski. "Well, they are quite good together." "No, I will not permit this union, this is scandalous-" "And why? It's not like _you_ can marry your own sister. My brother is a good person, even if he is coarse." The CEO smiled at the thought of his siblings, but Ivan's frown only deepened. "If they marry, then we become family." _Isn't marriage too soon?_ "And?" "And _we_ , my dear Yao, will be forbidden from marriage."

The Chinese man spat out his green tea at these words. "G...Get out! W...what do you mean by marriage!" Ivan sighed. "Well, was marriage too quick? Then we can start by dating, Yao~" "T...That's not the point!" The Russian looked heartbroken, but Yao pushed the man's expression aside. "First of all, I have _no_ interest in you, Mr. Bradinski. Second, I have siblings that I need to take care of. Third, I AM NOT GAY!" "Really?" "Yes!" "Really?" This man didn't know how to give up, did he?

The door opened, and there were noises from the front door. "Hyung, we're back!" Thank god, Yao rushed to the hall. "How did you enjoy the party?" "I feel sick." Mei mumbled, and Yao could smell liquor from her. "You need a rest, Mei-mei. We'll talk about this in the morning." Kiku looked worried as he stared at Mei's retreating back. "She didn't look very happy. Nisan, do you think there's anything I can do?" _I don't think so, since your heart belongs to another._ Yao shook his head. "No, how was Her-" "It was the best time I had. But nisan, the Bradinski girl-" "We'll talk about her later. There's a guest and-" Ha Eung barged in, humming _Worth It_ , as he shouted. "I need a drink!" "Not now-" But it was too late.

"WHY IS THE FUCKING RUSSIAN IN OUR BLITHERING HOUSE?" "Kolkolkol.." Yao sighed. "Kiku, go to bed. Where's your brother and sister by the way?" "Leon's walking Emil home, and Ha Yeon-" Before Kiku could finish his sentence, loud singing could be heard from the outside of the house. "YOU DON'T GOTTA GO TO WORK, WORK, WORK, WORK, WORK, WORK, WORK!" "Please tell me she's not drunk." "I'm home!" Kiku and Yao gaped at the sight in front of them. Ha Yeon was lugging a very drunk Alfred Jones on her back. "He's drunk. And he _insisted_ that he walk me back.." The eldest of the family groaned. "I need to phone Kirkland, he's plastered and he's staying the night." "TROUBLEMAKER-" "Yes, yes." Ha Yeon dragged the teen into the guest room, vanishing.

"Nothing happened." Ha Eung ensured his older brother. "Yes, _nothing_." Kiku gave the Korean a glance. "What?" "Oh, _nothing._ " Yao suddenly remembered something. "So, who got picked as the Best Pair in this dance?" At this Kiku prodded his younger brother. "I'm tired. I'm off-" "Young man, is there anything you're not telling me?" "It's nothing important." His brother, flushing blood-red, ran off. Yao had a good guess who the Best Pair was. "I took a picture of them." Kiku handed Yao the picture. "They look so _cuuute_!" Yao squealed. "Yes, indeed." Kiku turned pale, at the Russian standing behind them. "Can you please go home to your sister?" "I was just going to." And Ivan was off-not before throwing something into the house. "Is that a grenade?" The Japanese boy prodded the carefully wrapped parcel. "We'll see." Yao opened the parcel, and found candy. "Candy." "Spiked candy. Candy with love potions in them." Kiku glared at the Tootsie Pops. "Don't be so silly." However, the candy was uneaten until the following morning, when Alfred F. Jones, with a hangover, ate the candy, and was perfectly healthy.

* * *

 _Hwang-jin was a very famous courtesan in Korea, Joseon. She had many fans and admirers, and was known for her beauty, musical talent and brains._

 _Heart Attack, Worth It, Work From Home belong to Demi Lovato and Fifth Harmony._

 _None of the characters are mine, except for North(Ha Eung)._

 _I hope you enjoyed this all-too-late Halloween party, although this is rather lousy._


	18. In Which All Hell Breaks Loose

Kiku breathed in, then breathed out. _Be quiet, self. You do not want to be caught._ Shouting could be heard very clearly from outside.

"I told you to leave her be-"

"Well, you're not the boss of me, are you?"

It was dark and damp here, and it smelled of cologne. What was he doing in a closet, he had no idea whatsoever. The honorable, loyal Kiku Honda, in a closet, overhearing a conversation between two siblings? It was _shameful_.

He'd have to wait until the owner of the room left with his twin. He would make Ludwig pay for asking him to visit this place, it wasn't like he had asked for this.

Two hours ago, he had been minding his own business, reading books in the vast study of the Beilschmidt Estate. Feliciano was asleep in a corner, and Ludwig was doing homework.

"Oh, no."

Ludwig sounded horrified.

"What is it?"

"The Student Council File. I think I left it at Jones's house."

Kiku couldn't get how a careful person like... _Ludwig_ could forget his files. The Senior President of the School scrunched his face up in exasperation.

"Going to that house is a nightmare, with Jones being noisy, I have headaches afterwards..."

He knew only too well as the Treasurer of the Student Council about how noisy the younger boy was, but he didn't mind that much. Excepting the fact that Jones yelled in his ear far too often.

"Kiku, could you please do me a favor and-"

"No."

Kiku refused, point-blank. He could guess what was coming for him.

"Well, that's too bad."

Ludwig ran his hands through his golden hair, then gave him a thin smile.

"I remember that Elizaveta left a file behind the last time she came here-before she broke up with Gil-and there were a few _interesting_ pictures of you. You wouldn't want our dear Hercules seeing them, would you?"

Kiku stood, putting his books into the randousel bag he so treasured.

"I wonder why I ever started getting along with westerners."

Ludwig only shrugged, waving him out.

* * *

"So, you are here to see Alfred, _chéri_?"

Kiku gave a curt bow to the Frenchman who had gotten the door for him.

"Yes, Francis- _san_. Is he here? I have come in Ludwig's stead-apparently he left his file behind in Alfred's room."

For some reason the usually cheerful man seemed down, shaking his head.

"Non, he is not here-he is out, perhaps with Gilbert or your sister-"

"Well, Ha Yeon is with Matthew, they have a bio project."

He had heard his sister discussing about the bio thing with Matthew over the phone, her voice high and loud just like usual.

"Your sister needs to make up her mind, really."

"Excuse me?"

As he raised an eyebrow Francis gave him a look that spelled out something like shock.

"Tell me at least _one person_ in your family is actually good with _amour_."

"I don't understand-"

"The _copain_ of your little sister is either Alfred or Mathieu, is it not obvious? But one of them will be devastated, and it breaks my heart to see these boys quarreling like dogs over a piece of meat."

 _Oh, that._

"Alfred has been on edge around Matthew after Halloween, for some reason, and Matthew isn't acting like himself."

A hand clapped on his shoulder and Kiku turned sharply.

"Come on, frog. Kiku doesn't need to know about the disasterous love lives of our family."

Arthur was now entering, taking his hat off and hanging his coat on the peg.

"But it _is_ his sister-"

"It's not his job, and he's not playing matchmaker for either of the boys. Come on in, Kiku."

An uncomfortable silence followed him as he climbed upstairs, and hushed voices could be heard from downstairs. He'd just find the file from Alfred's room and leave.

* * *

He'd been in the house for a thousand times, but he hadn't visited Alfred's room for about three months. It had changed a lot, and Kiku gave the newly added Playstation a long glance of longing. Yao was a good brother, and he wouldn't trade Yao with Arthur, but Yao would never buy them a Playstation. One of the actual reasons Ha Yeon and Alfred had started being close was because of their incredible love of games, and the crazy high scores they had created. Something caught his attention, and Kiku smiled as he saw his present for Alfred on Christmas- a minature of the boy- on the nightstand. He then frowned, searching for the file among the cabinets.

 _Found it._

Kiku reached out, then pulled the file out. It wasn't Ludwig's file, just one that looked almost identical to it. The blue binding along with the constellations was the same, but Ludwig's file had his name on it, while this one had DO NOT OPEN on it. Unfortunately, one of the methods to attract more attention to things that should be kept as secrets were words like these. Feeling a small amount of guilt he opened the file.

It turned out to be boring, just a file filled with pictures, marked with dates. How unjocklike, of course the boy wouldn't want anyone to know about the Matthew-like, sentimental things he did. Kiku smiled, leafing through, and found his picture with Alfred with a couple of others. As he skipped to another page, his grin was wiped completely.

 _July 14th. Best Birthday Present ever._

A picture of a smiling girl holding a plushie shaped like a bun.

The problem was, that was only the beginning of these love-sick pictures with captions. There were occasional photos of himself or Leon, or Mei in the background, and there were some family photos. But more than half of the photos were related to his sister, and Kiku stared at the last picture for a long time.

 _Does she know?_

A picture of the Jones boys and Ha Yeon. They were obviously at a cafe, and his sister looked blissful in the middle of the boys. Alfred had a confident look on his face, while Matthew looked a little sad and uneasy. The date was yesterday, and Kiku sighed. He'd have to talk about Yeon about this entire hullabaloo.

* * *

An hour passed, but Kiku was still stuck in the room. The reason? He'd found the file, but now Kirkland- _san_ and Bonnefoy- _san_ was having an argument downstairs. It would be awkward to run downstairs. He'd stay here for a few more minutes, and ask Alfred to take him out as soon as the boy arrived. He'd read all of the books in the shelves, and now he had moved on to something else; but then a screen flashed inside the room. Alfred's computer was now flashing, perhaps some emails that the boy had received. Come to think of it, he'd never gotten to see Alfred's computer- _Do not commit such shameful behavior, Kiku. Please, Kiku, don't open his computer, you've already seen his files..._

He groaned, finding himself sitting down on Al's beanbag chair and clicking on the American's computer. It was a Facebook Message from- _Hercules._

 _Don't panic, mind._

He already was, his hands were sweaty.

 _Hi?_

Great, now he would have to pretend to be Alfred.

 _Yo, buddy._

Kiku banged his head on the desk, in irritation.

 _So, hey, how did the confrontation go with Matt?_

He had no idea what the Greek was talking about, but he'd make it up.

 _Not bad._

The Greek sent Alfred- _no, Kiku_ a smiley face with the thumbs up.

 _Good, I don't understand why brothers like you two would quarrel over Lee, even if she's a cool person and a pretty kid._

Kiku face-palmed. It seemed the entire school, excepting his sister knew about the brothers fighting over her.

 _Anyways, any advice on my situation?_

What situation was Hercules talking about? He'd heard that the Greek wasn't exactly affluent, was this financial? Kiku scratched his head, unlike his usual self.

 _Oh, yeah, you're worse of than me in love life. Perhaps I should ask Feliciano or Lovino, or Mr. Vargas... Sorry._

The Greek was having love issues?

 _Love, dude? Srsly?_

He typed in these weird words that he'd seen his younger siblings using, then squinted. The answer was almost instant.

 _Come on, you all know. He's never gonna like me back._

Good, at least he knew Hercules was not straight. But then, it could be bad.

 _Who's this guy?_

The message was written with trembling hands.

 _Stop pretending to be dumb, idiot. Honestly, I remember Kiku saying something about your brain cells all dying out but then I didn't take it that seriously._

Really, he would not say something that rude, even if Alfred could be triggering at times.

 _I did not say that!_

Whoops. He had blown his cover.

 _Really, Alfred? You're making a lot of typos lately. Geez, this romantical business must be taking its toll on you._

Kiku thanked kami-sama for his luck.

 _Sorry, dude. This is really difficult._

 _No problemo. I totally get it._

He had to ask Hercules about the he that had been mentioned, but then he couldn't, what if he said he liked Sadiq, the hot Turkish dude that had been Herc's frenemy for ages? Kiku couldn't risk getting his heart broken, he couldn't, so instead he veered off in another direction.

 _BTW, what do you think of Kiku?_

 _You call that a question? You already know! Must I really answer that, you burger-eating jerk?_

What did Alfred know about Hercules' feelings toward him?

 _Come on, answer the question, dude._

There was a extremely long pause, then the message arrived. Kiku gulped as he scanned every word.

 _Well, he's a great person, even if he doesn't talk much, and when he talks, he's cute._

He's _cute_? Was that it? How was he supposed to know if Hercules liked him or not?

 _Do you like him or not?_

 _What's with the questioning?_

The Greek had sent him a GIF with a shrugging face on it.

 _Oh, nothing._

* * *

There was a commotion downstairs, and Kiku whipped around. The door had opened, judging from the noises.

"I'm home."

Great, Kiku turned the computer off, deleting the messages in the speed of lightning-a skill developed through years of practicing. Alfred wouldn't like to know that he'd been sending messages in his name. Now he could leave with Alfred's help as the adults would stop fighting.

"Ah, you're back."

Arthur and Francis had decided to stop arguing for Alfred's sake, but then the door opened again downstairs.

"Matthew Jones! You are a _jerk_!"

Apparently, Matthew had been the earlier person in arriving home, and Alfred had just returned.

"Please, boys."

Francis sounded tired and Kiku could swear he could hear the Frenchman sigh.

"Oh, really? Why are you calling me a jerk in the first place?"

"Come on, you know, stop pretending to be all innocent and naive!"

The Captain of the Basketball team and the self-proclaimed hero of the school was bellowing his anger for some reason.

"Stop yelling, if you're fighting, you can fight in your room."

Arthur had decided to use sarcasm, but Alfred had gotten it as a piece of advice.

"Well, great! You and I are going to have a talk about blood traitors, Matthew!"

* * *

The sound of feet storming upstairs, and yelling. Two pairs of feet could be heard down the corridor. Kiku studied the window in Alfred's room. He could jump, but then he'd probably die. It would be awkward to see the brothers, but then it wasn't like he could hide-no, he could. The wardrobe in the corner was enormous, and he could most surely hide in there.

He ran across the room, taking his bag in his arm along with the file in one hand, and jumped into the wardrobe, closing the door just in time. The door slammed open and he could see the twins through the tiny crack in the wardrobe-which wasn't exactly a pretty sight. Alfred was red, his face flushed. To his immense surprise, Matthew also looked infuriated.

"What do you think you are, stealing _my friend_?"

"Does Yeon have a nametag on her, saying _Property of Alfred F. Jones_?"

"Oh, it's _Yeon_ now, is it? What gave you the confidence to call her that?"

Kiku quailed at the monstrous expression on Alfred's face, but Matthew just pushed it aside, crossing his arms.

"She's not just your friend, she's _my_ friend as well, and she said it was okay."

"Well, _I'm not okay_ with it, get it?"

"What are you, her _boyfriend_? Because the last time I checked, she didn't have one."

"Argh! Matthew Jones, you are such a backstabber!"

In his anger, the American threw his phone halfway across the room, chucking it on the floor.

"It's not _my fault_ that you're not getting into a relationship with Ha Yeon, and you know it."

"What do you mean, it's my blithering fault? _You're_ the one who's butting into everything! You started acting like a jerk from Halloween!"

"It's called _being truthful to my feelings_ , not being a jerk."

Kiku had to admit, Matthew was good at keeping his ground. He could hardly believe it was the same polite Matthew who came over to his house. He was also good at pissing Alfred off.

"No, that's not even being a jerk, you don't even _like_ her the way I do!"

"Well, at least _I'm_ not the reason she began fighting with her dear twin brother!"

Alfred flinched quite obviously but Matthew went on.

"You're flirting with _nearly all_ the girls in the school, even with Bradinski, and Hedervery! Some people even asked me if you were gay, because you're like _everyone's boyfriend_ , and you're accusing me of not liking her?"

"I told you to _leave her alone_ -"

"Are you the boss of me?"

"Well, maybe I'm not, but you're the person _who's making things awkward_! You're always jealous of me because Arthur and Francis likes me more, and just because I'm School President, but that can't _justify_ you trying to steal my friend from me!"

* * *

It would be good to leave the wardrobe, it was hot, and it smelled of cologne, and his head was starting to ache from the shouting battle in the room.

"Anyway, you want evidence that she's more my friend than yours? Let's call her family and see who wins!"

Alfred marched across the room, and picked up his phone. He began to dial, and Kiku could see Alfred biting his nails waiting for the person on the other end to answer.

" _What is it, motherfuxxer?_ "

Ha Eung was answering, and he sounded displeased.

"Tell me who Ha Yeon likes between me and Matthew!"

" _Is that even a question? You sound like a seven year old. Now I'll kindly hang up, I need to do homework._ "

Matthew smirked seeing the crestfallen expression on Alfred's face.

"Oh, yeah, her brother thinks you're trash. _Yao_ thinks you're trash, and you know that Ha Yeon won't _dare cross_ Yao."

"Shut up!"

Alfred was now dialing another number, and the dial tone could be heard in the room.

 _"Kimi no zen zen zense kara boku wa kimi wo sagashi hajimeta yo, sono bukiccho na waraikata wo megakete yatte kitanda yo!"_

Kiku cursed in his head. His phone was ringing. In sound mode. There was a long silence in the room.

"No way."

Alfred sounded horrified.

"Oh, no."

Matthew's voice was vanishing.

In one stride, the wardrobe door was flung open, and both boys were staring at the senior in the closet, all three looking mortified.

"I...I just came over to find Ludwig- _kun_ 's file for him... I did not mean to...overhear..."

"Just pretend you didn't hear anything and leave."

Red-faced, Kiku stuttered another apology and fled. He couldn't wait to go home. As he ran downstairs, he could hear the adults talking about something, but he didn't exactly listen to it. He flung open the door, closed it and ran down the street. _Home sweet home._

* * *

"Just where were you?"

Hands on hips, Yao glared at Kiku, who had just rushed in. For some reason, his brother was awfully early, and he looked very angry. _Very, very angry._

"My greatest apologies, brother. I... had something..."

"Well, I understand. Come on, you're going to the hospital with me."

"The _hospital_?"

Now to think of it, the place was awfully quiet. Was somebody hurt badly? Ha Eung couldn't be hurt, he had been talking about homework only a few minutes ago.

"Yes, the hospital. Leon had the _immense great luck_ to drive. _Without a license._ He somehow managed to get into an accident. Kirkland's been calling me for about an hour."

So that was why Arthur had been talking to Francis in lowered voices.

"The press isn't going to like it, is it?"

His brother looked worried behind reason, running his hand through his hair, frowning.

"The press isn't the problem, I might lose custody of Leon."

Kiku couldn't imagine the Han Estate without Leon, it would be weird, just like not having a limb, an arm or a leg.

"Kirkland was extremely angry, he was talking about the papers and-"

"Let's just go to the hospital, are the others there?"

Yao only nodded, his face grim. For some reason, Kiku could feel that this was his Murphy's day.

* * *

"It's not like I'm dead, stop fussing."

Leon's arm was in a sling, his face was white, but he was grumbling about everything just like normal. At these words, Kiku gave him a thwack on the head.

" _What_ were you thinking, driving without a license? _Nisan_ was worried sick! And whose car did you borrow anyway?"

"I'm so sorry, Mr. Honda."

It was Emil, Leon's friend. The usually cool boy was blinking fast, his face red. His eyes were puffy as well.

"Well, you should have known better than to let him drive! Seriously, out of all people, Emil? And I thought _Jones_ was a bad influence!"

Yao pulled up a chair next to Leon's bed and fussed over the covers.

"No fever? No temperature rises? Are you okay? Do you feel sick?"

"Your fretting is making me sick. And _where the heck_ did the twins go to?"

"Wang Leon, you don't say stuff like _heck_ to older brother! That's only for me!"

Ha Yeon marched into the room, carrying a bag of shopped goods.

"Here, your milk and chocolate."

The Korean girl tossed the things on Leon's bed, and the Chinese boy glared at her.

"Geez, can you be kind for once?"

"You make it _extremely hard_ for us to be kind."

Ha Eung was gruff, giving Emil a look that could kill.

"You're going to have a talk with me, _Mr. Youngest of the Nordic Industry_. I heard you were pretty intelligent, did your mind _go and take a cliff dive_?"

" _Gege_ , I know you're a psychopath, but there's no reason for you to get all worked up over a small bump-"

" _A small bump_? You could have _died_! You could be in that family grave! We could be visiting you for Christmas, you fool!"

Leon's face turned solemn as the family members locked eyes with each other. To think about it, the twins had been orphaned by a car accident. No wonder they were furious with Leon.

"And besides, do you know what _meimei_ 's doing? She's in the infirmary, she fainted because of you, you idiot!"

Mei fainted?

Kiku dropped his phone in shock, then picked it up with shaking hands.

" _Nisan_ , where's Mei?"

"She's right next door, but she's going to wake up soon. The doctors say it's because of stress, but I think it's all because of this fool over here."

A weight seemed to fall on his heart, as Kiku thought about his little sister, with flowers in her hair, and her small smiles that warmed his heart. Her trusting behavior, her politeness and demureness. And he had so been uncaring towards her after he had discovered his crush on Hercules. Avoiding talking to her, spending time with his crush who might not even like him-he was a fool. The talk of the others sounded like background noise now, and Kiku left without excusing himself.

* * *

The room was white, the curtains a deep stain of red. Mei looked small and vulnerable, curled up in a ball. It dawned to him that she had shadows under her eyes, and Kiku couldn't help but feel guilty. But for what? Leaving her behind in the dust? Not caring about her loneliness? Being caught up in his love life? It suddenly occured to Kiku that he and Mei had stuck together just like the twins had, for more than ten years. They had been for each other through thick and thin, Mei had always been the first to wait for him to recover after his _dark period_ , singing to him, trusting him, forgiving him.

"Mei, please wake up."

There was no answer, just the sound of subtle breathing, and the sound of heels echoing down the hall.

"She's tired, can't you see?"

It was his annoying brother, the psycho. Ha Eung had punctured a hole in his cider can, and was downing the cider through the hole.

"You... What's wrong with you?"

"No, what's wrong with _you_?"

The Korean looked angry, throwing the can in the trash. It went through, landing perfectly in the trash can, but Kiku glared at the younger boy.

"You're making it uncomfortable for Mei to sleep!"

"Well, you're the one who's giving her all this stress! Are you _blind_? Sometimes I wonder if I'm really the person who doesn't have a heart or a conscience in this family!"

Kiku scrunched his face at these words.

"What do you mean, I'm the person who's stressing her out? I'm her favorite sibling!"

"Did it _never_ occur to you that she might be seeing you as something _more_ than a sibling?"

Ha Eung's voice was starting to go on the rise, but Kiku couldn't register the change.

"You're crazy. We're siblings, everyone knows-"

"Are you related by _blood_?"

"Well-"

"Her name is Wang Mei, and yours is Honda Kiku. Can't you just see? She's been liking you ever since preschool!"

In exasperation, the younger boy slammed his foot down on the floor.

"Why-"

"How am _I_ supposed to know why she likes a jerk like you? If Ha Yeon said she liked you, I'd tell her to commit suicide or something!"

Kiku couldn't answer, his throat was starting to scratch, his eyes were starting to burn up.

"And _you_ , you just had to go and tell her all about your _boyfriend-buddy-whatever_! Do you even have a conscience, telling her stuff like that? You literally threw her heart in her face and ripped it out!"

It made sense that Mei had never liked Hercules. It also made sense why she had looked so uncomfortable around his talk about romance.

"You're lucky that Yao took all my knives away in confiscation, you jerk-"

Movement from the bed made the brothers whip their heads around. Mei was stretching, her face pale. As she locked eyes with them, she looked troubled.

"Where-Leon-Is he-"

"He's fine, and he's loud, and he's very much alive. No need to worry about that jerk."

Ha Eung filled Mei in with a sniff, and a very disgusted look directed at Kiku.

"You need a good lie-down and a rest, stay here."

As his brother left, leaving him with Mei, an awkward silence fell over the room.

"Kiku? I'm sorry to have bothered you-"

His lower lip trembled at his sister's words, and Kiku forgot all about Ha Eung's words. He wished to forget, wished to be able not to feel.

"Are you all right? You look upset, I'm sorry-"

His sister's expression changed to shock as Kiku threw his arms around Mei.

"No, I'm so, so sorry."

Mei's eyes were filled with confusion, then horror.

"He told you!"

"I'm so sorry."

"He...Ha Eung..."

"It's all my fault."

Mei pulled herself out of his hug, her face turning cold.

"I don't want your sympathy. Just go, please."

"Mei-chan..."

"Go."

As he left, Kiku wondered how messier his family could possibly get. Yao, who was already tired because of a stalker, was going to fight with Arthur because of Leon. His sister Mei had a crush on him. Ha Yeon was in a love triangle that included the two most influential juniors in the school. Ha Eung was just a plain psychopath, and he was ready to murder Kiku. Leon-well, Leon was now officially stuck in a hospital. And Kiku? His crush thought he was _cute_ , nothing more. His friends were now thinking that he was some kind of person who was dishonest and listening behind doors. His family was falling into a mess. He only hoped they'd make it out.

* * *

 **AUTHOR'S NOTE: Okay, this is one troublesome chapter. I thought it would be better to draw all the trouble out in Kiku's perspective, since Ha Eung is too cool about everything along with Leon, Mei's too sweet, and Ha Yeon too direct. Yao-well, Yao's postive about everything except for Alfred and Ivan. Therefore, I have given Kiku a bunch of the burden. I really thank the eight favorites and ten follows. It gives me energy to see that some people like my work-and I really thank you, Cone of Depression for your review. I was wondering if NKBel was really a good choice...Haha... Next chapter will be something on Leon, I guess. Bye, people.**


	19. In Which Leon is Bored of Being Sick

"Argh!" Leon threw his fork in the air, frustrated. His arm was in a sling, and he was in the hospital. He had said it was okay, but Yao disagreed to him, saying that he'd throw away Leon's fireworks if he demanded to leave. And so, he was stuck in Room 412, with a broken right arm, and a plate of glop.

"Nobody _forced_ you to drive."

Ha Eung, his _babysitter and psycho of a brother_ , was reading 13 Reasons Why in a corner, eating chop suey.

"Shut up, at least _you_ have a motorcycle."

After the twins had had their fight of a century, Yao had given Ha Eung a motorcycle-although he didn't ride it to school, prefering his bike, Leon had seen the junior revving off to Asia Corp with that thing. It was pretty awesome-in fact, he was jealous of the thing.

"Your sister doesn't have a license as well."

" _She_ has a personal chauffeur."

At this, Ha Yeon gave Leon a look of malice.

"It isn't _my_ fault that I messed up my driving exams!"

According to Arthur, during the time Ha Yeon had stayed in that house, _all_ of the family had tried to teach her how to drive. It had resulted in a dent in Arthur's Bentley, and a long scratch on Francis's Renault. And so, Alfred, tired of teaching her had decided to pick her up.

"Yeah, whatever."

Mei handed Leon a new set of utensils.

"Eat your food, you need energy."

"That's not food, it's _glop_."

After two weeks of hospital food, he missed Yao's cooking. Arthur had offered to bring some scones, but all of them had refused, and declined. The problem was that the hospital food was similar to Arthur's _poison_.

"Well, don't you want to leave this place?"

Leon groaned, staring at the stupid television.

"I swear, I am _never_ watching Sesame Street again. I'm sick of watching that show every day-"

It had been basically _every day_ , as that was the only channel in this entire hospital. Leon, who had been so bored to listen to Economics was now basically missing the stupid course. In fact, he was missing every part of school. He was now even regretting his wishes about being sick and playing all day. Nothing was good if your right arm was broken.

* * *

"Shut up, Kirkland, you're going to wake him up-"

"He's already awake, you blasted idiot!"

Yao's voice along with Arthur's was practically ringing down the hospitals, and the younger siblings all sighed. Since Leon had been ill, the two concerned and traumitized adults had been coming daily. They had even stayed up next to Leon's bed for the entire time, except for the times they went to work.

"It's so embarrassing, they're super noisy."

Ha Eung gritted his teeth, listening to the conversation, and noticed his siblings giving him an odd look.

"What?"

"You know, it's rich coming from you, the black sheep of the family."

Kiku commented, and the Korean just shrugged.

"At least I wasn't the school bully or the drunk party girl. Not that there's anything wrong with it-"

The door opened, and Yao walked in, looking harassed along with Arthur, who was taking his hat off.

"Could you please throw that hat in the trash? It looks like it's from one of these really old Victorian films."

Arthur sneered at Yao's words, and pointed at Yao's hair.

"Yes, and please cut your hair. You look like some hippie. And this hat is actually a gift from the Queen herself."

Mei prodded at the bag Yao had brought along with him.

"What's this?"

"I thought Leon would like to read one of these books, it is said to be very popular-"

"Ah, yes, and it's Chinese Literature. Who would read that rubbish?"

Kiku gulped as he determinately stared at the floor, and the lawyer flushed as he noticed Kiku was holding The Studies of Mencius.

"It's actually pretty decent, the Literature thing, very dignified."

Judging from the killer look that Yao gave him, it seemed too late for Arthur to change his word choices.

"And _how_ dignified are you?"

"I am a true gentleman, unlike you, Wang, you money addicted-"

* * *

" _I just had sex, and it felt so good-_ "

All of them turned at the ringtone that was blaring in the small room.

"Young lady, this is not funny."

Apparently, Yao thought that his siblings had played a prank with his ringtone. It seemed otherwise.

"Actually, older brother, it's from Mr. Kirkland's phone."

Mei whispered, then burst into peals of laughter at the sheer notion. Arthur looked literally horrified as he hurridly pulled his phone out of his pocket. Meanwhile the song kept on blaring, oblivious to Arthur's immense anger, and Yao's amusement.

"Actually, Kirkland, I thought you had a boyfriend, so you can't have a woman let you-"

"SHUT UP, YOU WANKER!"

Arthur shouted, and answered the phone.

" _Hey, Artie, we're back! But since we literally have nothing to do, can we come over to Leon's room?_ "

"No, they can't, he's extremely weak."

Yao shouted for the person on the other end-Alfred-to hear.

" _Doesn't matter, we're nearly there!_ "

At this, everyone groaned. Just yesterday, Alfred had been over with Matthew. They had caused an epic foodfight in the hospital cafeteria, and Arthur had had to drag them out. Yao had been _very_ upset.

"You just _had_ to make friends with that _annoying_ American, Kiku? I don't understand what you see in him, Ha Yeon."

"Hey, even if he's an atrocious, pranking git, he's my cousin!"

Arthur's eyes seemed to grow round at a sudden realization.

"Lad, it wasn't you who changed my ringtone, was it?"

" _It was way better than God Save the Queen! Don't you agree-_ "

Arthur just hung up, then flopped down on a chair in exasperation.

* * *

"I don't know what makes me keep raising that git. Why can't he be gentle like Mattie or quiet like Kiku for once?"

Yao gave the lawyer a grin of victory, sitting down on Leon's bed.

"So how are you, _didi_? Is it more comfortable? Are you hot? Cold?"

"I'm alive."

The only thing Leon was sure of was that he missed school and Emil, along with Mathias.

"Oh, by the way, the young man from Nordic Industry called me, he asked me if he could visit today."

His heart skipped a beat at this. _Emil wanted to see him!_

"And? Did you say yes?"

"Whoa, look at him, he's all desperate! I mean, you're so _eager_ to meet your boyfriend!"

Ha Yeon teased, taking a swig of water from the refrigerator.

"Well, _your boyfriend_ practically-"

"Jones is _not_ Ha Yeon's boyfriend!"

"Alfred is _not_ going out with anyone until he's thirty!"

Yao and Arthur spoke in a heated voice at the same time, then glared at each other.

"Are you indicating, _eyebrows_ , that my sister is not good enough for your burger-eating heir?"

"Says the one who mistreats my heir and cousin!"

"Here they go _again_."

The other people _continued_ doing their business, hearing this argument for the thousandth time, but Leon had a more pressing matter.

" _Did you say yes or not?_ "

"Of course _not_ , you're still in recovery!"

His brother was incredulous, shaking his head.

"Absolutely not, he's the reason you're in this hospital for the first place, such an irresponsible boy, letting you borrow his car when he knew you didn't have a license-"

This seemed to be the first time his two caretakers and guardians ever agreed, and it happened to be a stupid decision.

"That's ridiculous, Alfred Jones is coming over, why can't Emil come over?"

There was an uncomfortable silence at this.

"Alfred _decided_ to come on his own accord, I never invited him-"

"Then Emil should most surely come!"

Yao and Arthur locked eyes for a full minute, then Arthur spoke.

"Lad, you're not having a boyfrined until you're thirty-"

"You're _insane_ , you've been going out with Francis ever since high school, and look at _Kiku_ , or _Ha Yeon_ or _Ha Eung_ , it's unfair!"

"For once, I agree with _eyebrows_ here. You're still too young, and you're too naive."

"Leon, naive?"

His sisters snickered behind their books, and Leon threw the nearest object that he could find, out of pure anger. The object happened to be a water bottle, and Leon gaped in horror as water splashed all over Ha Yeon.

"Look, I'm sorry-"

"You little _git_! Just because Emil can't come over doesn't mean you get to splatter me with drinking water! My blouse-"

His sister flew at him, and Yao struggled to restrain the furious girl.

"Hey, I'm here-"

 _Geez, he just had to pick now to come in?_

Alfred was there, with Matthew, and he was holding a bunch of flowers.

"Dude, it's for your steady recovery, I bought roses, but I dunno if the nurses are going to-what happened to _you_?"

The American was gaping at his sister like this was one of the most shocking things he had ever seen.

"I _freaking_ hate you, Wang Leon!"

The door slammed as Ha Yeon left, and an awkward silence stretched on and on.

"Um, what just happened?"

"An episode of _Love and War_."

Leon sighed, leaning back into his bedstead. Great, now his sister was pissed out at him, and his arm hurt thanks to Ha Yeon Lee.

* * *

"Can you help me?"

Ha Eung ignored Leon, just like usual. He seemed to be on Page 200 of the book. The others were out, for a proper meal while Ha Eung had decided to stay behind.

"No."

"Please?"

Perhaps a polite approach would work on his brother, he really needed to meet Emil, and Leon was sure that Yao would allow Emil to come here if Ha Eung, the psycho who never got along with anyone asked it of him.

"Nyet."

 _Politeness failed on him? Then what actually works?_

" _Jaebal_?"

He'd use Korean, he was this desperate. His brother had to thaw, he just had to!

" _Ani_."

Lee Ha Eung was an evil person, there was no telling twice.

"Pretty please?"

"Shut up, I need to read this. This book isn't even mine, and I have to return it by tomorrow."

As Leon stared at the edge of the book, he caught an initial.

 _Property of N.B._

"This book is Natalia Bradinski's, isn't it?"

"So what if it is?"

Leon needed to hatch a plan, quickly. He had to be fast about this. It suddenly occured to him, that he had to use his older brother's feelings even if it cost him his life.

"You like her, don't you?"

"Don't be so ridiculous! I wouldn't like her, she's a brother-addict!"

 _Your sister is a brother addict_ would be a very rude thing to say, and Leon was sure that Ha Eung would really murder him in his sleep if Leon continued to insult Ha Yeon.

"Well, you do like her, why would you dance with her if she was of zero importance to you?"

"I felt sorry for her."

This was a big fat lie, he could see through this. The senior's facade was crumbling, and his hands were shaking slightly. If he could see Ha Eung's face now, he was sure it would be turning red.

"Ivan Bradinski would _kill_ you if he heard all this crap about you and his sister. He'd sent an assassin after you if he heard you saying that you _felt sorry_ for his precious Natalia."

His brother had gotten the threat.

"You. Wouldn't. Dare."

"Difficult times call for difficult measures, older bro. Now be a good sport and get Emil here for me, before I tell Ivan about your feelings toward Natalia. Even if you change your words, saying that you _actually like her_ , he could get pissed off just like Yao does. You wouldn't look so handsome without your head, would you?"

The Korean stood from his seat, then picked up his Samsung.

"Yes, Yao-hyung, it's me. I think it would be good for Leon to have some company over, so could I invite one of his friends?"

" _That's very considerate and grown-up of you, Ha Eung. I'm very proud of you. Yes, you may._ "

Leon punched his fist in the air, making the Vulcan Salute-until he actually _saw_ his brother. The look he was given was more like _You're dead. Just you wait._

"Yes, Yao-hyung."

Ha Eung hung up, then p _ut_ his hands on his hips.

"Call your fricking boyfriend before I change my mind."

Although his right hand was in a cast, Leon was fast to grab his Xiaomi. But his luck ended there, as he struggled, typing the numbers into the keypad.

"Oh, for the sake of Tangun... I'll do it."

He nodded, showing thanks to his brother who snatched his phone for him, pressing the digits and calling. He could hear Emil's dial tone, and soon enough-" _Leon_?"

His friend sounded horrible, and Leon sighed. It hadn't exactly been Emil's fault, the entire thing had happened because of him and his attitude.

* * *

 _"You are so lucky to get an actual car!"_

 _Emil smiled proudly, patting his Volvo. It had been a gift from his brothers, who ran the car industry._

 _"The jerk, Lukas finally allowed me to buy it! I've been saving for eons."_

 _Even if he called his brother a jerk, Emil loved Lukas dearly, and Leon couldn't help but feel jealous. Yao was a great brother and was like a father to him, but he couldn't help but wish that he would be coddled less. To Yao's eyes, he'd always be a five-year-old._

 _"Can I drive?"_

 _"Come on, man, you don't have a license."_

 _Mathias laughed at him, but somehow Leon didn't like this. He disliked the cooler boy making fun of him for whatever reason-not in front of Emil._

 _"I can drive. I've seen a lot of drivers-"_

 _"Seeing isn't the same as driving for real! I don't think it's a good idea-"_

 _"Do you think I'm a coward? I can drive, and I'll show you."_

 _Emil gulped, a worried look on his face as he passed Leon the keys._

 _"Be careful, don't hurt yourself, don't speed-"_

 _"I know better than to speed."_

Thinking back he should have listened, as he had been shaking behind the wheel for the three minutes of driving. It had not been long afterwards that he had bumped into a rail, and had gotten into an accident. The stupid safety bag hadn't worked for some stupid reason, and his arm had flown out with a _bam_. The next thing he knew, he was in a hospital with very white walls, with a very concerned Emil standing over him. The other boy had been crying, only reminding Leon of his own stupidity and ego.

" _Thank god you're okay, I was so worried, your siblings were so upset-_ "

"They get overworked when it comes to emotions. They're Asians and they love dramas."

At these words, Ha Eung smacked the back of his head with his hand.

"Brat."

" _I should have stopped you from driving at whatever cost, I'm so sorry-_ "

It was not like his friend to talk much, but then Emil had been under emotional strain.

"It's not your fault, you're not to blame. I was the one who was sitting under the wheel."

" _But it was my car!_ "

This wasn't the reaon why he had called for the first place. He had only wanted Emil to come over, but now he felt guilty. Guilty and embarrassed.

"Look, it's not your fault. I was the idiot. You tried to stop me."

" _I should have tried harder, what if you had died?_ "

"That's stupid. Anyway, do you want to come over to the hospital? Yao said that it was okay for me to bring a friend-"

" _He said no when I called-_ "

"He changed his mind."

There was a sigh from the other end-for what reason, he didn't know.

" _...I'll be there in a few minutes._ "

Emil had disconnected, and Leon was left staring at the phone with Ha Eung for company.

"Love sucks."

"Tell me what _you_ know about it."

* * *

When the ward door had opened, Leon sat bolt-upright, trying his best not to look sick. It was a difficult job, his arm in a sling and everything. There was a bandage on his face as well, but it was smaller than the original one that had been there right after the accident.

"You came."

"Of course, I told you I'd come."

Emil was wearing a collared shirt, and a tie, holding a bunch of flowers.

"Flowers?"

"Yes, I was hoping for your recovery. I thought white was a good color, so I brought them-"

Leon studied the flowers, trying hard not to be emotional. He'd have to be careful, otherwise he'd behave like his sisters or brothers who were too emotional and lived life like a drama.

"Thanks."

"Not a very lovey-dovey conversation, is it? I'll leave you to yourselves so that Romeo and Juliet can have a good talk together-nah, Romeo and Juliet left for dinner. Perhaps Kyunwoo and Jiknyeo."

Ha Eung stood from his chair, taking his book. The door closed quietly behind his brother's back, and Emil sat, his face gloomy.

"Your brother doesn't look very happy."

"Does he ever look happy? He's a future murderer. And besides, I threatened him about something."

Emil chuckled, then quieted, his face lowered.

"Yao was very angry. I deserve it."

Leon tried to take his friend's hand, but winced. His shoulder still ached, and Emil now looked more guilty than possible.

"This is _not_ your fault. It wasn't like you put a handle in my hands. My brain circuit wasn't working properly, and you tried."

"But-"

He patted the gloomy boy's head with his own uninjured hand managing a smile.

"I'm fine. Really."

Emil nodded, then wiped quickly at his eyes.

"Emil, are you _crying_?"

"B...Be quiet! I'm not crying, that's really stupid!"

Leon couldn't help it, Emil was too cute for his own good. The junior clutched his chest, laughing insanely. It was just then that the door opened.

* * *

"-I swear, I'm going to kill that brat. I don't care if he's sick, he spilled water on my blouse! And I was wearing _black_ underwear!"

The two boys turned in the direction of the high pitched voice, and the Chinese boy groaned.

"I _said_ I'm sorry, sis, and I bet Emil didn't want to know about what color your undies were."

"Bet two others disagree."

Ha Yeon, Yao and Mei were back with Kiku flanked by Arthur, Francis and the Jones twins.

Yao took a swift look around his surroundings. He then seemed to register there was something missing, and something new in the room.

"Where is your brother?"

"The toilet, maybe."

"And _what_ is Emil doing here?"

"Ha Eung-"

His older brother waved away his pathetic excuse with one hand.

"You possibly blackmailed him about something. That much is obvious."

"And besides, Ha Eung is a _tsundere_."

Kiku shook his head at the younger boys as if it was very obvious.

"What's a _tsundere_?"

Francis smiled at a very confused Arthur, poking his arm.

"Well, _mon cher_ , isn't it obvious? It is used for handsome men like yourself."

"DON'T CHANGE THE SUBJECT! We were talking about the reason _why_ this young man is here, when Wang clearly told him _not_ to come!"

Emil flushed a color of red.

"Well, no matter. We can't send a guest back, even if it's a clearly irresponsible idiot."

Yao had decided to play the courteous host, but Leon knew that the atmosphere was already sour. The CEO, who had decided to clean the room, now noticed the flowers that Emil had brought.

"You bought lilies."

"Yes, sir. I thought Leon would like them-"

"Don't you know, boy, that _white flowers_ are usually used for dead people?"

 _Damn gege and his stupid customs that nobody believes in!_

"I think they're decent."

Arthur showed approval at the flowers, then took the bouquet from Yao, placing them in the water bottle that had been manhandled by Leon.

"I'm really sorry, Mr. Wang-"

Yao sighed, running a hand through his hair.

"I understand. Just...Just don't do anything crazy until you're thirty and you can be responsible for your children."

"Mr...Mr. Wang!"

Emil looked horrified, but Yao didn'r realize his mistake and continued on.

"You think that's too late? Well, then okay. Twenty-five. And don't forget to use a-"

"Shut up, _opium bastard_!"

Arthur hissed under his breath, and Yao just glared at the man.

"Whatever, _eyebrows_. I'm trying to be a cool older brother unlike you."

At least Yao wasn't pissed out at Emil anymore. That was a good thing. And Arthur was getting along with Yao. They weren't trying to murder each other, which was a great development. But still Leon had to ask, he had to know.

"Arthur."

"What, lad?"

"You're not going to ask for custody, are you?"

The lawyer chuckled, finding it actually funny.

"Why, you want me to? Sorry, kid. I can't. I need to raise a seventeen year old who has the mental age of a seven year old, along with a perverted frog."

"Thank god."

He wouldn't have to worry about food poisoning. It was good to have two concerned adults hover over him with family, though. The only thing left for him was his release from hospital.

"So when can I leave?"

"Never."

At the incredulous look on Leon's face, Yao smiled.

"Just kidding!"

"It was very hard to believe."

Kiku added, and it was thus that another day in the household ended. A very peaceful day to the Northeast Asian standards.

* * *

 **I Just Had Sex is a real song, sung by The Lonely Island. The thing that happened to Artie was what basically happened to my friend. Anyway, I just found out I had 1700 views on this fanfic, which is just awesome... Prussia rated awesome... Wow... Thanks for the 9 favorites and 11 follows! I guess the next fic will be about Yao or Ha Eung or Mei. Perhaps Ha Yeon? I really don't know, but I guess it will be more romantic. Plus... I have exams! Congrats, Suhwa. Wish me luck! (Exits)**


	20. In Which Christmas Eve is Wasted

Romulus Vargas gazed into the innocent, naive faces of his students. He was the school's latin teacher, the v _ery handsome, very sexy_ latin teacher to be precise. He was also the father of Feliciano and Lovino, but he was really renowned for being the school's _official_ matchmaker. Now, even as his eyes scanned over the class, he could see the relationships fold and unfold.

There, Lee Ha-Eung sat looking out the window and twiddling his pen. Not so far away, Natalia Bradinski would turn her head once in twenty minutes, and make a face at his ignorance. _In the denial stage. But since they are...an interesting pair...well._ In front of Natalia Bradinski sat Alfred Jones, who was practically _pining_ after Lee Ha-Yeon, who had friendzoned him. Well, perhaps not friendzone. Occasionally, Lee Ha Yeon would poke her best friend, and smile, or blush. _They'll be glued by the lips by the end of the year._

Too bad for Matthew Jones, the quieter twin had lost his catch because of his brother. One could tell by the wistful look on his face. At least it was not as bad as Mei Wang's cause, which was lost, Romulus mused. He knew that Kiku Honda and Hercules, his _dear_ nephew had a lot of sexual tension-without-anything-happening. Anyways, he'd be surprised if Honda and Hercules weren't an item. It seemed that a lot of his students needed some help, oh dear. They were _hopeless_.

* * *

"Miss Wang?"

Mei lifted her face, mildly curious.

"Yes, sir?"

"Translate the word _superbia_ for me."

"Pride, sir."

"Well done."

Romulus smiled widely. A little too wide-and Lovino groaned out loud.

"Don't tell me you're planning something-"

"Mr. Vargas, I may be your _father_ but this is classtime, you will refer to me as sir."

"Don't tell me you're planning something, _sir_."

"Well, actually I am. Class, do you know what _Class Aptent_ is?"

"A very high class!"

Mr. Jones blirted aloud without thinking, and the classroom burst into laughter.

"Actually, it's Christmas in Latin."

"Christmas? Class Aptent? How can that be the same?"

Mr. Beilschmidt exclaimed loudly, and Miss Hedervery just groaned.

"I will be hosting a party along with my two sons on the Eve of said day, and I expect _all_ of you to attend! Along with your gifts!"

"But I don't have money!"

"Everyone who doesn't attend must have a good reason!"

 _There. I threw the bombshell. Now I'll land the bomb._

"Anyone without a partner also needs a good reason why! I'll deduct your points if you don't have one!"

The class visibly groaned. But Romulus knew them well enough, they'd go home humming, buying their clothes, and they'd dance through the night at said party. He wouldn't be surprised if his guest bedrooms were occupied afterwards.

* * *

" _Oppa_!"

Yao smiled at the voice of his sister. It was good to get called during work, he was tired nowadays and Christmas was coming up.

"What is it, Ha Yeon-ah?"

"Our teacher's hosting a party on Christmas Eve, and we're all supposed to attend-all of the juniors."

"Ah."

He had been planning on seeing the Nutcracker with his family. Well, it seemed that it wouldn't be possible.

"I'm really sorry, but..."

"We'll talk about this back at home."

Setting down his phone, Yao sighed. He had a very good idea _who_ the teacher was, and he hated the man at this point. _Romulus Vargas, stealing my siblings for Christmas Eve._ There was a knock on his door, and he nodded, then realized the person at the other end of the door couldn't see him. Walking forward, he yanked the door open.

"Yao!"

 _Ivan Bradinski_ stood in front of him, holding a bouquet of the miserable trademark sunflowers that he had always bought.

"It's you."

Making to close the door in Bradinski's face, Yao pushed the door. Unfortunately Bradinski was stronger than him, and the Russian had one foot in the room.

"Did you hear from your family about the Vargas party?"

"Yes, I did. And I would like you to leave."

The man had to be deaf, as he plain ignored Yao, walking into the room and sitting down on Yao's sofa.

"It's so unfair, don't you agree with me? And I was planning to go to the Nutcracker with Nat and Katya.."

 _Wait. What._

Yao whipped his head around too fast, glaring at the man.

"What do you mean, the Nutcracker?"

"Well, Yao-yao, I _am_ a man of upper society. And even men like me have the right to enjoy music, da?"

"No, I wasn't slanting you about that! I mean, _I_ was going to see that ballet. With my family."

"Truly?"

Now even Ivan sounded surprised.

"Why would _I_ lie to you? I was looking forward to going there, the Bolshoi Ballet doesn't come everyday. It's a shame that my family cannot attend. Perhaps I should give the tickets to someone more willing to attend."

" _Nyet_ , you lie to me a lot. Last time when you said that you were attending a seminar in China and you were eating chop suey back home, and the previous time when you said you were busy, and..."

"If you weren't stalking me, I wouldn't have to lie to you!"

"Well, I love you too much, Yao-yao!"

He'd ignore the part about love.

"So, what's the real reason you've come all the way here? It can't be because of our lovely siblings."

"Vell..."

The large man fidgeted, and Yao felt his neck prick with apprehension. This couldn't be anything good. Ivan's Russian accent was returning to his English, which meant he was nervous of what he was going to ask.

"Vill you go to the ballet vith me?"

Yao blinked, then rubbed his temples. This had to be someone's idea of a bad joke.

"My siblings cannot go vith me, and I didn't know anyone else to go vith me."

The CEO considered the words. He had a bunch of reasons why he didn't want to go with Ivan Bradinski to the ballet. He'd get bad press. Bradinski had a sister who would murder anyone close to the man, and most of all, Bradinski was his _stalker_ who always wanted Yao to be one with him.

"Please, just this once."

 _Do not, do not..._

"Fine. I will go to the stupid ballet with you for Christmas Eve. And _you_ will pick me up."

"Thank you!"

The taller man hugged him fiercely, then whirled him around.

"PUT HIM DOWN, YOU STALKER!"

Lien and Cheng stood at the door, the former angry and the latter horrified.

"Ah, the bodyguard and the secretary."

Ivan smiled, putting him down, and kissed a slightly dizzy Yao on the top of the head, saluting him.

"Then I will see you tomorrow, Yao."

"What do you mean, he's seeing you on Christmas Eve?"

"It is none of your business."

As Ivan twirled out, humming a song, the Vietnamese woman turned on Yao.

"You're not going out with him, are you?"

"I didn't want to waste a ticket."

"Then why are you so red? You're not seriously falling for him, are you?"

"I'm not! And if you accuse me of that one more time, I'm going to sack you!"

He was _not_ falling for that man. He refused to believe it.

* * *

"What am I supposed to do?"

Mei was in her room, her sister sitting next to her.

"Oh, Mei, can't you just go with someone else? Like Elizaveta or something."

"I'll just get my points deducted."

Mei shrugged, pulling a comic out.

"You know, why don't you just ask Kiku or something?"

"Oh wise one, how can _I_ ask him when he knows I _like like_ him thanks to your _oh so very kind brother_?"

"He might go with you for all he's worth."

It was all so easy for Ha Yeon to say, with her popular jock _boyfriend_.

"Come on, you'll never know if you never ask him."

"But it's incest!"

"Did it ever occur to you that you're not related by blood?"

And as Ha Yeon left her to ponder, Mei thought about all of the things that had made her like Kiku. His quiet acknowledgements, his occasional smiles, and so on. She had always loved Kiku ever since she was a child. She pulled out a clean sheet of paper and began to write.

 _What I love about Kiku Honda_

 _1\. His smile_

She couldn't find herself to write more. This was... very embarrassing. There was a call from outside.

"Mei-chan!"

Her brother that she loved too much. Mei stood from her chair, making her face slightly less red.

 _Act normal, act normal._

Walking out, she found her older brother holding a box.

"Your doujinshi arrived. Here-"

"Kiku Honda, will you go to the stupid Christmas Party with me?"

 _What was that._

The senior's eyes were round with surprise.

"I don't have a date."

 _Wonderful excuse._

"I know you have a crush on Hercules and everything, but I don't have anyone else to go with, Leon's coming out of the hospital just today and I can't ask Ha Eung and-"

She probably sounded stupid, and Kiku just looked surprised.

"Well, our sister who is stupid at giving advice told me to ask you. And to be openly honest with everything."

If there had been any chance he'd go with her, she had thrown it out the window.

"I'm really sorry for bothering you."

"No, I'll go with you."

As Mei wondered if she had misheard, Kiku just nodded.

"I'll go with you, I'm the good older brother. And besides, I don't think Hercules actually cares about me. He didn't ask me out."

Was she some kind of subsitute or what? But it was better than watching him go out with the Greek.

* * *

"So, Leon, how do you feel after returning from the hellish ward?"

It was dinner time, and the family was gathered around the table. Yao had prepared Leon's favorite meal, Beijing Duck.

"Wonderful."

The youngest of the family was digging his face into the meal with enthusiasm, as the rest of the family watched on.

"I have an announcement to make."

Wang Yao stood from his seat, looking slightly worried.

"What is it, older brother?"

"I'm going to the Nutcracker with Ivan Bradinski."

A fork fell to the floor, and Leon started to cough. Ha Eung stabbed the table by mistake, and Ha Yeon whispered something to Mei with worry. Kiku looked horrified.

"You can't go with _him_!"

"Hurry, someone needs to take _nisan_ to the ward for mental people!"

"You've finally cracked under stress!"

"Children, children!"

Yao sighed, raising his voice. The table fell silent, listening to what the eldest had to say to defend himself.

"He's not an entirely evil person, and I couldn't waste my tickets."

"That's what _he_ wants you to think!"

Ha Eung snarled, and his twin nodded, her face worried.

"Well, I warned you children in advance. If I don't return in time, you know where to look for me."

"Don't forget to take pepper spray and repellant."

"I don't think that would be necessary."

Yao defended the man, knowing that it would be better to keep the information that he himself had already prepared repellant would work even more badly.

"Anyway, _gege_ , I think I'll be staying at home. I don't take Latin class."

The others nodded, Ha Eung looking jealous at these words.

"Can't I say I'm sick and take leave?"

"Lee Ha Eung, you will do no such thing. You will attend the party even if it kills you."

The male twin sighed, pulling the knife and stabbing his duck with refound vigor.

"I hate Latin."

"You're not the only person who hates it."

* * *

The Vargas house was noisy, loud, and vividly decorated.

"I told you it was a horrible idea."

Lovino grumbled, hanging a streamer across the room.

"No, it's a wonderful idea!"

Feliciano grinned, pulling out a golden star decoration and hanging it on the top of the gigantic Christmas tree.

"Everyone hates dad. And thanks to dad, they all hate us."

There was a knock on the door, and Feliciano went to get it.

"Luddy!"

Wonderful, _potato head_ was here. Now his older brother would go squealing along with the stuffy German. Sure enough Ludwig Beilschmidt was there, holding a well-wrapped blue gift.

"I see you're still not done with the decorations."

"Whatever."

Lovino climbed down his ladder, he didn't want to see his brother frolicking around with the senior.

"I'll help you."

In his mental ladder of coolness, he moved Ludwig up, from next to anchovies and dung to pizza. Helping hands were always useful. There was a rapping sound on the door, and Lovino knew it was his turn to get the door.

"I'm here."

It was Hercules. The Greek smiled at him, one of his cats in tow.

"Why so early, and why alone?"

"Your dad wanted me to do something for him."

"Oh."

He started to feel sympathy for Hercules, almost immediately. Kiku Honda hadn't seemed happy recently, and his cousin didn't seem to be helping.

There was another knock on the door, and Hercules turned to get it.

"We're here."

It was Vash and Lilli. Vash was one of the punctual people, and this signaled the start of the arriving guests. Lovino tried very hard not to think about the mess which would be made in his house.

* * *

"You sure this is the right house?"

"Y-E-S."

Gilbert scratched his head. He had come with Antonio. Alfred had decided to wait for his _friend who was a girl-no, girlfriend._

"It's clearly noisy. Won't be surprising if the neighbors call the police."

As they rang the doorbell, there was a commotion, and the door opened.

"Hello, everybody!"

It was a very happy looking Feliciano.

"Who's here?"

"Nearly everyone. Excepting Fred and Yeon, Mei and Kiku. And Mattie."

"Oh, didn't you hear?"

"What?"

Gilbert didn't know how to say this.

"Mattie's sick. Something about a stomach bug or whatever-"

"You can't be seriously believing that."

Antonio gave Gilbert a look that said _idiot_ on it.

"Come on in, we're not standing on the door for the entire time."

As they entered the room, Antonio sprinted to the person standing under the mistletoe.

"Lovino!"

The Spanish boy put an arm around the harrassed Italian who smacked him immediately.

"Get off me! What is wrong with you?"

"It's Christmas Eve~"

Gilbert could see his older brother talking with the older Italian brother who was smiling. His Spanish friend was getting the telling-off of his life, but was smiling. It felt lonely standing in this room, without a word to anyone.

"What are you doing here?"

A very familiar voice pierced his ear. An Austrian voice that he despised. His used-to-be-girlfriend's new boyfriend stood there, in his tuxedoed glory. Roderich Edelstein who even starched his undies.

"Just standing there. Where's Liz?"

"Eliza's talking to Lilli."

It was awkward, one of his previous best friends turning out to be his archnemesis in the love area. A long silence followed, in which Roderich reached for a juice and Gilbert turned to stare at Liz.

"You two good?"

"...Yes."

Gilbert managed to flash one of his famous grins as he laughed.

"Great, you had better be good or I'll steal your girl."

He'd be the typical loud German they wanted him to be for now.

* * *

"Everyone here?"

Mr. Vargas had arrived to check in on them, and had bought twenty kegs of beer along with him.

The seniors and juniors nodded.

"Sir, Mattie's sick."

Alfred blurted out loud, and the Latin teacher gave the junior a look of understanding.

"Yes, I get it. Okay, live your life! YOLO!"

There was a cheer, and the students split up in twos and threes.

"So, what are we going to do?"

Ha Yeon tugged at Alfred's tux. Being shorter than him on heels was a bad thing for her, as he looked down on her.

"Well, we could dance the night through."

"Or?"

"EVERYONE, GATHER ROUND!"

Gilbert Beilschmidt's voice was loud and boisterous.

"What is it now?"

Kiku sounded tired, but most of the students sounded interested.

"We are going to play Truth or Dare. With beer."

"You in?"

"Of course."

The juniors and seniors gathered round in a circle, and Ha Yeon found herself next to-

"You again."

Her dear twin brother, who looked bored out of his wits.

"I can't believe you're in."

"Who cares?"

"All right, let's start this."

The game of the night had begun.

* * *

"I'm leaving!"

Yao shouted to Leon as he noticed the familiar car of the Russian waiting for him. He had dressed neatly, as expected of him. Running down the stairs, he saw the car door open and Ivan got out of the car.

"You look wonderful, Yao."

Today, there were no sunflowers, but a bouquet of roses. He politely declined, but then saw the crestfallen look on the face of the Russian. Something made him reach out and take the flowers, cradling them on his lap.

"Thank you for the flowers."

A small smile graced Bradinski's face, and Yao found himself studying the taller man. His silver hair was catching the pale moonlight, almost inhumane. The purple eyes that mostly focused on him for most of the time was now on the road, and Yao felt a tug, as if he was pulled toward the man. _What is wrong with you?_

"Our fseat is in one of the boxes."

Bradinski explained, both hands on the steering wheel.

"So, why are you watching a ballet?"

The mafia tensed, then smiled wide.

"I always wanted to join the ballet. But my father would have none of it, he wanted me to take his post."

That was something he could surely relate to, and a part of him thought that Ivan would not have turned out like... _this_ had his father been kinder.

"I understand about that. My parents were stern on me too."

There were no words after that, which Yao found as strange. The man was usually talkative, but today he was too quiet. Strange, really.

"Any other things to say?"

"Well, I thought you wouldn't want me to talk to you. I am, after all your stalker."

 _So he was actually being considerate._

A part of him seemed to warm to the man after that.

"No, you can most certainly talk to me. I don't like silence, it is uncommon."

"I can talk to you?"

Ivan's boyish face brightened with happiness, and practically glowed.

"Yes, you can. You can stop looking like you won the lottery or something."

He was going to regret this for the entire ride, he was sure of it.

"So, that was _how_ I got Leon back!"

"That was impressive! I can't believe Kirkland lost custody of Wang Leon like that!"

Half an hour later, both men were laughing like crazy, as they talked about the past. Snow had started to drift around them, and lights were sparkling in the city. Yao felt like he was talking with an old friend. Bradinski turned out to be more than tolerable. The man reacted the exact when he wanted him to, and understood everything.

"You aren't _that_ bad."

The Russian next to him suddenly tensed.

"What's wrong?"

"We've arrived."

And as they parked, Bradinski said nothing more, which made Yao feel curious and terrible at the same time. _This is not getting to me._

* * *

"Thanks. It's really nice of you to be here with me when you could be enjoying your Eve."

Emil shook his head, looking at Leon.

"No, I thought you would feel lonely. I brought games and movies. We could watch the Great Showman, or Along With the Gods, or well-"

"I have the popcorn."

As they sat down in front of the TV, Leon felt warm. Emil reached out for a bowl of popcorn, and promptly put it on his lap. The Great Showman had been their pick, and soon the twosome felt themselves intently watching the movie.

"This is..."

"Wow."

The movie had entered the point where Hugh Jackman was having success, when the phone rang.

" _I need you, girl~_ "

Emil answered Leon's Xiaomi for him, then turned, his face skeptical.

"It's your sister. She doesn't sound very happy."

"Yes."

Leon took the phone, glaring at it. There was loud background noise.

"What's going on?"

" _Ya._ "

"Yes?"

"I got a dare."

"So-"

"One plus one equals _guiyomi-_ "

Leon groaned, then put his hands around his ears for protection. His sister had been dared, no doubt to do the thing the Koreans called _aegyo_ which was disgusting. Eventually, Emil jabbed him on the ribs. Ha Yeon had hung up to his great happiness.

"I hate it when they do that, it's disgusting."

"I think it's kind of cute..."

This had to be a bad joke. Emil wasn't supposed to like cute stuff, which was repulsive. Leon was going to remain the cool kid along with his group of friends. There was no way he'd do something that repulsive.

"I think you'd look really adorable if you did something like that, Leon."

"Never."

"Please, just once?"

"No."

"For me."

Leon gritted his teeth, stuffing his mouth with popcorn. He'd rather die. He'd rather commit hara-kiri.

"Never."

"Leon~"

"Seriously?"

He closed his eyes, then steeled himself. _I'll write a Will and Testament. I can do this for Emil._

"You're adorable!"

"There."

Never again.

* * *

The atmosphere of the Vargas house was now heating up. For some reason, Feliciano and Ludwig weren't returning from Feliciano's room. So were Lovino and Antonio. So were many other people. The remaining people were now focusing on Truth rather than Dare.

"I'm spinning!"

Ha Eung smiled, and his sisters cringed. The Korean rarely smiled, which meant he had to be plastered.

"You need a break."

Natalia Bradinski actually sounded concerned, and she glared at the plastered teen.

"None of your business."

Ha Eung took the bottle, and spun. It came to a stop in front of-

"-Jones."

Alfred grinned widely. He was less drunk than most, good with his liquor. But he was in a jovial mood, happy enough to smile at Ha Eung.

"Truth or Dare?"

"Truth."

It was just then that Ha Eung's eyes narrowed the slightest bit.

"Fire away."

"How many girls did you-"

"Lee Ha Eung, that's a stupid question."

Ha Yeon looked horrified. Of course, she didn't want to hear the answer. As for Jones himself, his gaze was murderous.

"Come on, you can't lie. Just say the truth."

"...I'm sorry."

Alfred spread his fingers. _Ten._

"So much for virtue."

The cheerleader shot her brother a glare.

"Shut. Up."

"I'd rather you go out with the other Jones. At least he's celibate!"

Ha Eung smirked, and Mei decided to intervene.

"Leave him be. It's his life."

"I never knew."

Ha Yeon stood from her seat, her face a mask.

"Wait, how about you? You-"

If Gilbert had thought this was going to help Alfred, he was sorely mistaken.

"I'm a fricking _virgin_!"

A silence fell as the very upset Korean left the living room.

"Alfred-"

The American threw his cup on the corner of the room as he left.

"Continue?"

Mei's voice was timid.

"Sure."

"No more."

Natalia's voice was firm, and Ha Eung gazed blearily up at the girl.

"Why?"

"You're not a drunkard. You're going home, or you're going outside."

"Why should I? You're not _my_ girlfriend, are you?"

At this, Natalia pulled out her knife from nowhere.

"You'll come quietly, or you can leave with a missing body part. You're ruining everything, that including your sister's love life."

"At least she has one."

Ha Eung stood, half-leaning on the Belarusian, who nodded her approval.

"Good, you're leaving."

And it was so that another pair had left the room.

* * *

"Look, I'm sorry."

"You don't have to be."

Ha Yeon glared at nothing in particular, rummaging in the coat room for her black coat. _Where was it?_ It had been perfectly fine until her brother had asked that blasted question. Now the only thing she'd remember every time she saw Alfred would be the number _ten._ And she had nearly been his _eleventh_ fling.

"They were people before I liked you-"

"Like _who_. Just spill it."

Finally, she had found her coat. Pulling it on, she turned to Alfred, who was fidgeting.

"Yekaterina."

"That's one person."

"Lilli-"

"Good, Vash will kill you."

"There was this girl called Sakura-"

"Three."

"Natalia."

"I'm surprised you can actually look Toris in the eye."

"It was just a one-nighter!"

"What if _I_ become a one-nighter? The only reason you're still hanging around with me is because I'm too _edgy_ to sleep with you!"

Ha Yeon slammed the front door. Hard. She could tell that Alfred's foot had been caught in the door, but she didn't care. _And I thought he had something called virtue._

"Wait up!"

Alfred was now blocking her path, his arms crossed.

"Leave me alone."

"Why are _you_ upset? It's not like you're my girlfriend and I was cheating on you-"

"Maybe I'm upset because I thought you were a decent human being. Maybe it was because I thought you were saving it. Maybe it was because I loved you too much. Maybe it's because I trusted you too much to ask stuff like that. Maybe I don't want to end up as another notch on your belt as _eleventh_."

She angrily wiped her tears away.

 _"_ I can practically _hear_ you. _Hey, I finally got it going with Lee to third base. No, she was bad, but at least I was her first._ "

"Stop it."

Why was _he_ angry at her?

"Why should I?"

"Because I _love_ you, you aristocratic scholar! And I'd kill anyone who said things like that! I'd never forgive myself if I said that rubbish!"

Ha Yeon met him in the eye, the brown accusatory, while the blue furious and true.

"Liar."

"Do you know how angry I get when anyone else calls you Yeon, and when you laugh at anyone else? Do you know how fast my heart goes when I see you? Do you know how sad I am when you cry and I can't do anything for you? No, you don't. Because you're hopeless in love. When I see other people, it's easy to say flirtatious comments because I don't exactly care about them, but I can't say anything to _you_ because I don't want to wreck what I barely made with you. I've never been with anyone since I met you, and I don't know what I can call this feeling if it isn't love."

He'd said it. He'd said everything. It wasn't what he had planned to say. He had planned everything throughly, writing a long speech and memorizing it. He'd practiced everything with Francis, but it had all gone overboard.

"Just don't hate me. Please tell me everything can go back to normal at least. I know you practically want to kill me, or cut my junk up. Or put me in a cell and drown me. But please don't hate me."

The eyes of brown were blank, something he'd never seen.

"I'm sorry."

As he turned back-he needed to get his coat, a hand reached out and _slapped_ him on the face.

"How can I _not_ hate you?"

It was done. Over.

"You go around and sleep with _ten_ people, you always eat burgers, you hate my brothers, you're sloppy, you sleep in the middle of class! You're the worst person I ever knew!"

Lee Ha Yeon's voice was rising in a shocking five degrees.

"And you somehow make me _still_ believe in you! I hate you, because I can't stop _loving_ you! You're troublesome, but you're _my_ troublesome jerk, not anyone else's!"

It happened suddenly. Before he could register, his arms were around her in a tight embrace, and their tongues were in a battle of dominance. They broke apart just as quickly.

"So-"

"I won't forgive you. You deserve to be punished."

"And what is my punishment?"

"You, Alfred F. Jones, are to stay with me for the rest of your life."

 _The best punishment ever._

And he leaned in, cupping her face.

"Don't you know that's more of a reward than a punishment, _cherie_?"

* * *

Yao tapped his feet, as he gazed at the ballet dancers. They were in perfect syncronization, beautiful in their glory on the stage. Their body was one with the music, and Yao could feel the admiration of all the people heating up the place.

"They are remarkable."

Ivan spoke, his voice lowered. The man's voice was a bit scratchy, as if his throat was clogged. Yao tapped him on the shoulder, and saw something that disturbed him. The man was c _rying_ , tears clinging to his lashes.

The only thing he could do in the present situation was to pat the man on the back, just as he did to his brothers and sisters. Ivan continued to sniffle, and Yao continued to rub the taller man's back in circles.

"There, there. It's all right."

He couldn't do anything to stem the tears, which made it worse. Ivan was now leaning on him, crying softly.

"It's okay to be sad. Natural."

People were starting to stare at them, and Yao gave them an evil look that told them to shut up, or else.

"It's all right. It's Christmas Eve, isn't it?"

Ivan just continued to cry, leaving Yao to feel hopeless. He decided to do another thing he would normally never do. He took Ivan's hand which was obviously bigger than his-with both of his hands-and squeezed tight.

"You've done a good job this year. It's all right. Next year will be a better year, won't it? And the sun will come up in the-"

"BE QUIET FOR THE QUEEN'S SAKE!"

A voice he'd gotten used to over the years yelled at him, and Yao turned, eyes widened.

" _Kirkland?_ "

The Englishman was ready to faint, and so was the Chinese CEO.

"Vat is Kirkland doing here?"

Ivan also turned, his eyes still teary.

"Why, that's _toi ennemi_ (your enemy), Monsieur Wang!"

Francis Bonnefoy was also present, next to Kirkland, who now had fainted.

"I'm sorry."

They had decided to take leave during Intermission, and Ivan and Yao were in a coffee shop.

"It's okay to cry sometimes. You probably needed that. Everyone needs a little release."

Ivan's eyes were rimmed red, and Yao felt the dire need to tell him to stop crying.

"But you're crying too much. Your eyes won't look pretty if you cry for two hours straight."

The Mafia blinked, his eyes now filled with surprise.

"W...What?"

"If you cry too much your eyes will hurt. And-"

 _I am not telling him that he looks better smiling instead of crying. That sounds like one of the lines from Kiku's animes._

"Thank you for comforting me."

Ivan had calmed down, and there was a ghost of a smile on his pale face.

"I was... having a flashback about how much I wanted to dance."

"I'm sure you were a good dancer."

"Yes, Nat takes after me, she is in the school cheer team with Katya."

Now he sounded slightly proud, which lead Yao to speak another known fact.

"Of which my sister is captain."

"You have done such a good job with your siblings, I'm sometimes jealous."

"Jealous of me? My siblings are well, a mess. Kiku is addicted in cartoons. Mei has a crush on Kiku, since they're not biological family, and Ha Eung is mentally unstable. Ha Yeon has too many friends, and Leon is addicted with fireworks."

As Yao laughed, Ivan just sighed.

"Katya has a warm heart, but she is too soft to take the family business. Nat is... Nat. I fear I haven't done a good job with Natty."

It was a good thing that Ha Eung had brought the girl home a couple of times.

"Actually, I've seen your sister some times, and I think she has a lot of good in her. It's just hard to spot it."

"You really think so?"

And the man's face lit up in a way that warmed a part of Yao's heart.

"Yes, I really think so."

"Спасибо.(Thank you)"

Ivan took Yao's hand over the cup of coffee, and their stares locked.

"There you are!"

Both turned, and Yao immediately snatched his hand away.

"What-"

A very harrassed looking Arthur Kirkland with a mildly amused Francis Bonnefoy had now entered the shop.

"We've been searching high and low for you."

"And for what?"

"Today is the only day we can be free of our siblings and enjoy our freedom! So, why don't we go downtown and party like the 2000's?"

"That sounds-"

"-Wonderful."

The four adults left the coffee shop, for a crazy 'Adults Only' night of their own.

* * *

"Where-"

Ha Eung groaned. His head was splitting in two.

"You've gotten to your senses. Finally."

Natalia's voice was icy, and Ha Eung blinked a couple more times. The room he was in was dark. Natalia was sitting on a chair, her face cool.

"What happened?"

"You got drunk, and _ruined_ your sister's love life, by asking her boyfriend how many girls he had slept with."

 _Oh, no._

"And-"

"Ten girls. Your sister left, and Jones followed soon after. That's true love."

Ha Eung sighed, wanting badly to vanish.

"He never did that when I was around."

Natalia's voice was soft, and accusatory. It took time for Ha Eung to understand what she had said.

"So-"

"I was included in that list."

It made sense. Natalia Bradinski was a pretty girl, and Jones-stupid as he was-was handsome.

"And what does it have to do with me?"

"You're not jealous?"

"Why do I have to be jealous of Jones because he slept around?"

Ha Eung stood, then stumbled-the stupid beer.

"Don't you have eyes?"

Why was she upset with him? Girls were difficult.

"I have Mongolian eyesight."

"Tell me what you think of me, honestly."

"You're cool. You understand me better than most. You're pretty, but you're prettier when you smile."

That was it. Nothing more. He studied his reflection in the mirror, straightening his tie.

"Anything else?"

"What more do you want to hear? You deserve to meet a handsome jock like Jones or a nice person like Toris, go to a good university and live happily ever after."

Natalia gave him a look of cool dismissal.

"I'm giving you the chance to be honest. Be honest, it's now or never."

"And why are you giving me the chance?"

He was starting to get the gist of what she was telling him.

"Because you deserve one."

"No, I don't. I'm a mentally unstable person who likes watching Hannibal."

Ha Eung's hand was on the doorknob, turning to go.

"безумный идиот!(Freaking idiot!)"

"Я могу понять русский.(I can understand Russian)"

And with that he left. Bradinski deserved someone good. Not someone like him, who would scratch and hurt her.

"Lee?"

It was Toris Laurinaitis, a senior who was known for being kind and gentle. He was also known for having a crush on Bradinski.

"She's in there."

He turned sharply, inhaling. As he reentered the living room, he saw Mei sitting alone on a chair, a smile playing on her face.

"Where's Honda?"

"I sent him to talk to Karpusi."

"But-"

"I can see him happy. At least he'll be happy."

"Let's go home."

"Yes."

Ha Eung put a hand on his sister's shoulder. They somehow understood each other, despite their differences.

"I'm hungry."

"I'll cook you ramen."

Love wasn't going to solve their problems, siblings could solve them.

* * *

"So, I saw you came with Mei."

Hercules stared at the floor, not quite looking Kiku in the eye.

"Yes, I did."

"Then why are you not with her?"

"Because she wanted me to talk to you about something?"

"And what-"

"Why didn't you ask me to come with you to the party?"

Hercules smiled at this.

"Well, Uncle Vargas wanted me to help him with something."

The teen held up a small bag.

"What-"

"It was for each of his students, a Christmas Present. He couldn't do all of this by himself, so I was doing this with him for the entire time. But it seems that most of them won't get this..."

Kiku took the bag, and stared at it for a long time. There were freshly-baked cookies tied up neatly, along with a handwritten note.

"This is..."

"I made yours seperately."

It was a blue bag, with choco-chip cookies.

"It has green-tea flavor. I'm sorry if it's not delicious, I've never tried baking before-"

"This is really sweet of you."

"You like it?"

"Of course."

Kiku blushed, hugging the bag.

"Actually, I have something to tell you."

"And what is it?"

"I-"

There was a commotion from the front door.

"Still here?"

It was Mr. Vargas, a lopsided grin on his face.

"Yes, Uncle. Most of them left, due to various reasons, or retired early."

"Ah, well, then I guess we have to clean up this mess."

Kiku stared at the celing with its balloons, then at the floor which was littered with beer, cigarettes, and food.

"This is going to take forever."

"The floor isn't going to clean itself, right?"

They decided to split up, and Kiku was now supposed to clean the living room. He smiled as he found a picture of himself, Ludwig and Feliciano hanging on the wall. There were three other pictures, one of Mr. Vargas and the boys, then one of Ludwig and Feliciano, and the last one of Lovino and Antonio. Something caught his attention, and Kiku frowned.

"Looking for something?"

"Mr. Vargas.."

The Latin teacher nodded, solemnly.

"That was for Hercules, so that he could hang his picture of his lover on the wall. It's been empty-as you can see-because he couldn't find the time to take a photo with you."

He could feel the heat getting to his face.

"Mr. Vargas, we're not-"

"My nephew's a good boy. Remember, good boys aren't there forever."

Romulus left Kiku stuttering and red, and the poor Japanese boy stumbled, falling face-flat on the floor.

* * *

"That was one great movie."

"Incredible."

Leon yawned, as he pulled the DVD out of the player. The night had been extremely short, when he was with Emil. The Nordic knew how to make things go fast, and among the things, Leon's heart was also included.

"So, when do you think the others will be back?"

"I don't know, I don't have any idea. Ha Yeon could pull an all-nighter. Ha Eung was normally back fast, but he's not coming-Yao, I thought he'd be back soon enough. It's already eleven."

"Don't fret."

Emil's words were comforting, and Leon muttered his thanks.

"What about your family?"

"Oh, them? They went shopping. They don't exactly mind how long I've been missing, I'm practically invisible."

That was a lie, for Emil's brothers were strongly protective of him, and had text-messaged him every thirty minutes.

"Liar."

"Well, not exactly."

The front door opened with a gust of air, and soon enough, Mei stood in the living room with Ha Eung, both of them red-cheeked and slightly shivering.

"Your sister's not home?"

Ha Eung sounded worried.

"No, she's not."

"Oh, great."

For some reason, the male twin grimaced, his face turning pale in the light.

"Don't fret, I'm sure she can protect herself."

Mei comforted him, and Ha Eung nodded, taking off his scarf along with his coat.

"I promised you ramen, didn't I."

"Ramen?"

Emil's eyes grew round.

"Please tell me you kids at least ate dinner."

There was a growling sound that told the twosome otherwise.

"Oh, great. Fine. Everybody's having ramen."

The seventeen year olds left for the kitchen, and Emil sat there with Leon, alone again.

"I...I have something to tell you."

Leon's eyelids fluttered at the words.

"And?"

"I..."

The front door opened, once more, and Ha Yeon entered the living room this time.

"Well, kiddos, did you enjoy your time?"

"Um, yes."

Emil nodded for sheer politeness, and Leon could see his sister was pleased, as she ruffled Leon's hair playfully.

"Merry Christmas, Emil, Leon-ah."

"The psycho was asking for you."

"He's here?"

Ha Yeon somehow looked shocked, but she too left for the kitchen.

"So, what was it you've been trying to tell me?"

Leon leaned in, curious, anticipating.

"I've known you for forever."

The Nordic sounded serious for once, and again-"I'll make these good girls go bad~"-the door opened, revealing an extremely plastered Yao, leaning on an equally drunk Ivan.

"What the-"

"Bye, Yao-yao!"

The Russian disappeared, and his highly giddy cousin-brother stumbled up the stairs. They could hear him bumping into furniture.

"Okay, that was weird."

"What was the thing you've been wanting to say?"

"I... I really l-"

The door opened yet again, and this time, Kiku, with snow covering his clothes, came shivering in, his ears tinted red.

"Well, Emil-kun, it's late! And it's snowing, you better be off on your way."

"Oh. Thank you, Kiku."

A crestfallen Emil stood from his seat, took his coat, and waved at Leon as he left. Leon glared at Kiku, who looked slightly stunned.

"What was going on in here?"

"You ruined everything!"

Ah, well. It wasn't like he couldn't wait or anything. He'd wait as long as he had to. He was patient. He could wait. And it was Christmas.

* * *

 **Author's Note: This was an awfully late Christmas Update. WOW. My grades are out, and I'm dead. I hope you all had a Merry Christmas, and Happy New Year. Thanks for all of you.**


	21. In Which Natalia Pays a House Visit

Natalia Bradinski was an abnormal being. She was pretty, she was smart, she had good reflexes, but she was not normal. Her half-brother, Ivan Bradinski wasn't sane either. The only normal person who seemed to care about others in her family was Yekaterina, her half-sister. Fine, they shared the same mother. They had all decided to follow their mother's surname, which was also unusual.

Who cared about their family being weird? The Asians who lived in Han Estate weren't even related. Wang Yao-big brother's crush had taken the Lees in, along with Honda. Wang Mei was Wang Yao's paternal cousin, and Wang Leon as well. If you counted the number of people in that clan, it was bigger, and it was way more unusual. _At least, Ha Yeon Lee, or Yeon Lee doesn't have a thing for her brother._

Nat carefully placed her knife in her belt. It was a school day, and she had to go to school. Fast. She had to claim a seat before she ended up with someone as a partner.

"Brother! I'm going!"

Natalia shouted as she left. There was a long pause, and then, "Bye, Nat."

Ivan didn't even bother to show up. Natalia sighed. It was always like this. Footsteps, and Yekaterina came huffing out.

"Goodbye, Ivan!"

A moment, and Ivan came out, smiling.

"Good-bye, Yekaterina."

His smile froze as he noticed Natalia.

"Good bye, Nat-"

She left, without a word. Her brother was so discriminating toward her.

* * *

"You shouldn't be rude to brother like that."

Yekaterina chided.

"Who cares?"

"You will end up caring. Brother doesn't care about your heart."

Her sister's face was soft, but her words were not.

"Whatever. He will soon learn that I am impor-"

Her words were cut off as she noticed a number of people standing in front of a house. Estate Han.

"Goodbye, _nisan_!"

It was Kiku Honda, an upperclassman. He was waving to _Wang Yao. Her brother's beloved._ The man who sometimes gave her dinner when Lee Ha Eung had dragged her off to have dinner with him. The stern businessman smiled at his brother.

"Goodbye, Kiku. Have a nice day."

Feliciano Vargas, Ludwig Beilschmidt, who were his friends, were waiting for him, and the Japanese boy left the house eagerly.

"Sestra?"

Yekaterina seemed worried.

"No, nothing. Go ahead."

"But..."

Natalia was curious about something, and she planned to wait. The door of the estate opened as Yekaterina left, and a girl wearing heels ran out.

"Bye, _oppa!_ Love you! _Wo ai ni!_ "

Ha Yeon gave Wang Yao a hug, kissed his cheek, smiled and walked toward a flashy car. Alfred Jones sat there, eagerly waving at the girl.

"Bye, little one. Have a good day-"

Yao's words weren't even done when the car revved away. Behind the man, two others were emerging.

"I'll be late."

The underclassman and pyromaniac hurtled towards his bike on the rack. The boy, who had been in an accident was now out of the hospital, and was very healthy.

"Leon, don't forget to eat dinner."

"Yes, don't worry. Emil's going to eat with me."

Wang Yao smiled at his youngest brother as the boy rode his bike and took off.

"Yao _ge-ge_ , bye."

Wang Mei waved slightly and walked towards a waiting Elizaveta Heatherberry.

"Bye, _mei-mei._ Don't forget your lunch."

It was disappointing, as she had not gotten to see what she had been waiting for. Natalia was just about to leave when the door opened a last time.

"Are you sure you want to go, _di-di_?"

Yao sounded concerned, as a boy stumbled out of the house. _Ha Eung Lee. The boy she wanted to see._ Lee had been avoiding her ever since Christmas, he had good reason to. They had been drunk, and she had been too honest with Lee. He had distanced himself so much that he had forgotten all about returning her book.

"Yes, don't fret over me. It's a waste of your time, and you know I'm never going to be as sweet as Mei, or as considerate as Kiku, or as bubbly as Yeon, or-"

Yao cut the boy off.

"Ha Eung, that is no way to talk. You're ill. I should have made sure you didn't eat too much after Leon got out of hospital, but _no_ , instead I let you frolic around. Some good brother I am."

"Yeon was the one who partied, I just ate ice cream."

The boy snapped. Gods, he sounded a lot like her. Natalia held her breath. Was Yao going to act like Ivan, be all sighing and give up?

Wang Yao was not Ivan Bradinski. He had said so many times in all his glorious interviews, and Natalia could see why. Yao gave a ringing thwack on the back to his grumbling brother.

"Ignorant fool. You shouldn't be going to school. Why don't you watch Hannibal? I'll bring my work home and take care of you."

How generous. Ha Eung gave a disgusted look to his brother.

"What, and complain that I was the reason your work got slowed down? No thanks."

The boy started to trudge off.

"WAIT, YOU FOOL! At least let me drive you to school!"

Yao dragged his brother back, like some comedy show. This time, Ha Eung complied, and they were off in a Sedan. Natalia sighed. Lucky boy, having a brother who cared about him, no matter how cold or mean he was. Lucky boy.

* * *

When she got to school, it was late. Just as she had feared.

"You're late."

Alfred, Class President, Junior representative and Chairman, and a bunch of other things wrote her name on the chalkboard.

"Yes, who cares?"

Natalia surveyed the seats with a weary eye.

"Well, sit somewhere."

She found an empty seat next to Yekaterina. The classroom was rather noisy, and Natalia studied the people in their various seats. Alfred was sitting with Matthew-strange, considering the fact that he usually sat with Lee Ha Yeon. Perhaps he had gotten sick of her? Perhaps not. Natalia could see two black-haired heads together. Ha Eung was sprawled on his chair, looking wasted. His sister had a hand on his forehead.

"You really have to sit next to him?"

Jones' voice was too loud.

"He's sick."

"How sick?"

"He threw up."

"Well, if you say you need to take care of him, then who am I to stop you?"

There was movement as Natalia lowered her head. A book landed on her desk, rather softly.

"Here, your book."

"You're late returning it. You were supposed to give it back three days ago."

Ha Eung was rather pale as she studied the taller boy, now to think of it.

"I'm sorry. I couldn't return it in time, I'll make it up to you somehow."

This didn't sound like the cool ass she had danced with in Halloween or the boy she had eaten dinner with. He just sounded like a normal person, a tired person.

"And _how_ are you going to make it up to me?"

"Look, he _said_ he's sorry. Give him a break."

For once, Gilbert Beilschmidt was on Ha Eung's side, but the Korean shook his head, staring at her intently.

"I'll do anything you w..want.."

There was a split second before the boy lurched. Instantly, Ha Eung covered his mouth, and made for the door. The door slammed with a _bam_ , but it was too late, as shouts broke out in the corridor.

"Ew, he threw up!"

Wang Mei and Lee Ha Yeon ran, but for some reason, Natalia found herself out of the classroom as fastest. Ha Eung looked horrible, wiping his mouth on his shirt's sleeve, eyes red. He was sitting on the floor, a puddle of something unidentifiable next to him. Seniors and juniors were gathered around him, all whispering and staring. Nobody helping. A part of Natalia's heart seemed to harden as she saw this. The _only_ person who tried to get to her, or understood was now on the floor, a miserable mess-and these people, who were either too scared of him or didn't know him well enough, treating him like a germ factory-and she was there, tugging at his sleeve.

"Get. Up."

"Bradinski, what-"

"Get up, you idiot!"

Lee stood, stumbling, tired out. She could practically see his lashes due to their proximity and the small drops of _saltwater_ cleaning to them. For good measure, she wouldn't comment on his breath-the guy had puked all of his breakfast, his intestines and practically everything in him.

"Oh my god, Ha Eung-ah!"

Ha Yeon was now here, distress apparent on her face.

"Mei, call oppa. He's in no condition to study, let alone do anything. _Ya_ , you are going to the nurse's office with me-no commentary."

"What are you _bakas_ staring at?"

Kiku Honda had heard of his brother's plight, and had decided to play the good brother for once. Stepping out, the senior gave the other students a glare that could have frozen Hawaii. The students scattered, except for the Han Estate family, and herself.

"Come on, let's go to the infirmary."

Natalia slowly backed away, but then noticed her arm was in a vicelike grip.

"가지 마(Don't leave.)"

"I don't speak Korean."

It was a pathetic excuse, and she pulled her arm out, with nearly all the strength she could muster.

"Thank you, Natalia!"

Natalia ignored Ha Yeon as she returned to the classroom. Ha Eung's gaze seemed to pierce into her back as she left.

* * *

"I'm back."

She announced to an empty house. Ivan wasn't here, he was busy. Yekaterina was at a party or something, leaving Natalia to herself. School had been boring after Lee had left. His brother had sent some hot guy from Macau to pick him up, and so Lee was off. Natalia climbed the stairs to her room, changing into a white blouse and a black skirt. She carefully put a flower pin-courtesy of Ivan-in her tresses, then stared at the mirror. _Passable._

"Anyone home?"

The front door had opened, and Natalia ran downstairs. She had been expecting Ivan, or Ravis. Not _Toris_ with all his sweetness. Lee had owed her a lot, and this was part of it. Ever since Toris had brought a slightly crying Natalia home-saltwater in her eyes weren't the same as _crying_ -he had been thinking that he had a chance with her. _As if._ She'd found flowers in her locker, smiley faced notes and so on.

"Hi! Your brother summoned me for something-"

Toris also happened to be the son of Ivan's deceased butler, and was also a good cook. He also had a room in this house as well. This gloomy Bradinski house.

"Go home."

The senior blinked, then laughed.

"This is my home, Nattie."

 _Nattie. What does he think I am, his girlfriend?_

Natalia ignored him, heading for the kitchens. She needed some borscht. It turned out the fridge was empty. _Great. Another dinner at the Han Estate._ She grabbed her black coat, now making for the door.

"You know, Lee's not good enough for you."

She whipped around, and gave Toris a deep look of malice.

"It's none of your business."

"He's a psychopath, he doesn't care what happens to you or other people. He watches all sorts of weird things, he's cold-"

"I'm a brother-molester. I carry knives."

Why she was defending Lee, she'd never know. Natalia threw open the front door, slammed it as she left, and headed for the Han Estate.

* * *

"Oh."

Lee Ha Yeon's usually bright, happy face, turned a shade whiter as she opened the door for Natalia. The cheerleader captain stared at her quizzically.

"What is it?"

"I'm here for dinner."

The Korean girl nodded, understanding lighting her face for an instant.

"Yao isn't here, and Ha Eung is sick."

"How sick is he?"

Her question had been too fast, her gaze perhaps a bit too concerned.

"He'll recover. Stomach bug, the doctor says."

Ha Yeon seemed eager to close the door again, but Natalia had another answer prepared.

"I would like to visit your brother."

Manners and etiquette had been drilled into Lee Ha Yeon ever since she was little, and perhaps that was why the unwilling girl brought her into the bright, happy Han Estate.

"His room is on the second floor, next to Kiku's room."

The house was comprised of three floors, the first floor belonging to Wang Mei and Wang Leon, the third belonging to Lee Ha Yeon and Wang Yao. The second floor corridor was painted blue, sky blue with constellation decorations everywhere. It was an overly boyish corridor.

The first room she found was littered with figurines and animation posters. Honda's room. The second room's door was closed, and there was a DO NOT OPEN;LIFE COULD BE THREATENED sign on the door. Ignoring the childish sign, Natalia entered.

The room was painted in black, but there were still the constellation decorations, intricate, sophisticated, on all four walls. There was a poster hanging on the wall- _ASIA CORP OPENS WIDE_ -an Asia Corp poster with a man and a woman on it. There was also a star chart, a telescope and a bookshelf full with books. A few swords and knives hung on the other wall-Korean styled. A desk, neatly arranged with homework, with a nightstand was near the window, with its black curtains. The bed next to the desk was occupied, and Natalia could see a black-haired head resting against a blue pillow, the body covered with white blankets.

She pulled out a wooden chair and sat down next to the bed, staring intently at Lee Ha Eung. He looked like a child, fast asleep. A lock of his hair covered his closed eyes, and Natalia had to stop herself from trying to take the stray curl out of the way. To look at him like this, no one would dare call him a psychopath.

"Toris said you were a psychopath."

She whispered softly, so as not to wake him.

"I told him to shut up."

He was in Dream Country, there was a smile curling around his face-it enhanced his features, and the resemblance to his sister was striking. It somehow reminded herself of how she never smiled. _You look prettier when you smile._ She ignored his words, they could go to hell.

"When in the world are you going to get up?"

Although her words were sharp, she could spend hours just staring at him. He gave her the urge to protect for now. Normally, around him, she felt protected. Secure. Normal. He wasn't supposed to be lying in a bed, when she was right next to him.

"Lee."

He didn't wake. The door creaked open, and Honda stood there, uneasily. She had heard _all_ about Honda's tyranny, and how Honda was one of the reasons why Lee had cracked. According to Jones, Honda had broken Lee's ribcage. He had plenty of reason to believe Natalia hated him as well. After all, she was visiting his sick brother.

"Your brother just called, Bradinski-san."

As she raised an eyebrow, Honda managed a smile.

"You left your phone behind at home."

Natalia left the room, unease filling her stomach.

* * *

" _Where were you, Natalia?_ "

For a change, her brother sounded angry. Worried.

"I'm at the Han Estate. I've been visiting."

" _Who?_ "

"It's none of your business who I visit. You never care."

She could hear something break from the other end.

" _You're not visiting Lee Ha Eung, are you?_ "

"What's so wrong about visiting him?"

Ivan sighed, clearly distressed. But Natalia-she somehow felt detached from how Ivan felt.

" _He's impossible, haven't you heard what people say about him? He is... odd! He is queer, that one!_ "

"He's a human being, and he has a heart."

He was also one of the people who understood how she felt, who actually cared or worried about her.

" _Why can't you meet people like... Toris? Or Jones? Why can't you meet normal people, people who deserve you?_ "

"I'm a brother addict. I'm a knife collector. My brother-you are a member of the Mafia. I'm not that normal myself."

Natalia could feel herself flaring, defending Ha Eung. Her voice was rising, and she could feel her neck prick. Turning, she saw a very angry Ha Yeon, and a very unhappy Mei staring at her.

"I'll call you when I actually have time."

She left the phone, hanging up.

* * *

"The nerve of that man, _calling_ my brother names, when he's lost all of his marbles!"

Ha Yeon's eyes were burning into the phone.

"Yeon-ah..."

Mei tapped at her sister, who turned.

"Ah, yes. I believe you originally came for dinner? Well, you needn't wait longer. Oppa will be here soon enough. You can wait in Ha Eung's room until then."

Natalia nodded curtly, heading up the stairs once more.

"So, the _girlfriend_ finally came."

Leon Wang's voice was loud, down the stairs.

"Shut up."

Lee snapped, and Natalia smirked at the tone of voice that she used at her sibling.

"Your _hyung_ is sick. Show him the respect he's due."

"I will, when he deserves it."

Ha Yeon obviously gave her brother a kick, as Leon yelled out loud.

The doorbell suddenly rang, causing a small pause.

"YES, coming!"

Lee sounded giddy for some reason. Her giddiness faded as she opened the door.

"And what, are _you_ doing here?"

"I came here to pick up my sister."

 _Ivan._

"She's come to have dinner with us."

Lee's voice was shaking slightly. She was scared of older brother, of course.

"Vell, she von't. Not anymore. I disapprove of my _sestra_ 's relationship vith your brother, that annoying pest. It _is_ a shame that I cannot see Yao-yao before I leave, but I am quite a busy man."

"But... But she came all the way here..."

Lee was brave, or stupid to stand up to her brother.

"She is coming home. Vith me."

Natalia sighed, she'd have to go downstairs.

* * *

" _Otouto, Imouto._ What in _kami_ is going on? Who is our guest?"

Honda had left the living room, and she could see his silhouette.

"Mr. Bradinski."

The older boy's voice was cool and serene.

"We believe it would be a waste of time just to send our guests away, when our brother is to come home so soon-he was going to cook his special Beijing duck-"

"Really?"

Good for Honda to have a brain.

"Yes, _I swear it on my honor_. And since you are one of his most valued guests, he'd be delighted if you stayed for dinner-"

"Then I vill!"

Ivan sounded sweet as he spoke.

"Um, you can wait in the living room."

Ha Yeon scuttled in, and up the stairs. Natalia heard her hissing to Honda-"What are we going to do? Beijing duck? What will Yao say-"

"He'll understand, we have to call him before he gets here-"

As the siblings bickered, her own brother's voice cut clearly through their murmurs.

"I'd also like Natty to come down and have a talk with me. She can't be standing in the shadows all day, can she?"

* * *

The living room was decked in royal red, as Wang Yao had called it. It was an overly sophisticated, lovely place, alive and bright. The only thing that looked odd, standing out was the Bradinski siblings.

"So, sister, please explain to me how you managed to stay here for a whole hour _without_ Lee even waking up."

Her brother smiled, but his words were cool.

"I just waited for him to wake up."

"And why?"

Why, why. Natalia thought about all the other people she'd met before Lee. Ivan wanted her to be a sweet sister, prefering an empty-headed girl to what she was.

" _I just want you to be a normal girl, sestra."_

 _That wasn't her._

So she had sought after a popular, cool jock. Who wore glasses, spouted nonsense that sounded fun, and ate hamburgers for breakfast, lunch and dinner. It seemed to work for a few weeks. But it fell out.

 _"Look, Nattie, I... I don't know what to say, but I don't think you're the right person for me."_

 _"And why?"_

 _She'd glared at him, biting her tongue in betrayal._

 _"You don't make my heart beat fast, you... you don't need saving."_

A few days later, she'd seen him with a battered girl, who was wearing concealer to hide her wounds. He had smiled at the girl-Honda's sister-Lee-with unmistakable kindness, genuineness.

So she hid all her bitterness, and had acted cool. But she had simmered all the time, lashing out at poor Lee for being _friends_ with Jones, for needing his help, for being the one who had needed saving.

Now...

If Jones was water, cooling, refreshing, Lee was fire. Burning, destroying, yet passionate. The fire in him didn't forgive, but it recreated. It burned down old bridges, but it gave the space for new ones.

He let her be _her_ , no, he didn't want her to be _her_ because then, she'd stay with him. And he undermined himself so.

"Because he is the only one, who lets me be me."

Her brother's smile drooped.

"I see. This isn't about getting my attention, is it, little Nattie?"

It was so much more than that.

It was about accepting what her heart wanted to do, and putting down her damned honor, which was shit.

The doorbell rang, and Natalia stood.

"I'll get it, Lee."

Walking to the door, she yanked it open-and found herself face to face with-

"Yeon! So, I decided that I'd face the music like a man and tell Yao about everything and-"

 _Alfred._

The jock's face turned pale.

"H...Hey, Nattie."

"You can skip the petty words. Why are you here?"

"I'm here to see Yao? And have dinner with the family-"

 _You never did that for me._

Bitterness consumed her for a second, but a voice stopped her feelings from rising.

"So, burger jerk, you're the fucking first face I have to see?"

Lee Ha Eung was there, his face sweaty and pallid, his knees slightly shaking, with a tiny grimace on his face.

"Look, I'm going to be your, um, sister's husband! I'd like some bloody respect-"

"Well, well, more children?"

Ivan's voice boomed, and Alfred's eyes narrowed.

"Why is the _commie_ here?"

Before things got out of hand, however, a very harrassed looking Ha Yeon appeared, tugging at Alfred.

"Fred, come here-he's having supper with us thanks to _Kiku and his big mouth._ I need you in the kitchen with Kiku-he's cooking some noodles, and I need to whip up some dumplings-and I need some energy-and I-"

"Yes, yes, don't worry, _mon amour_ , I won't leave you with the commie. I'm staying for dinner as well."

"You and your _stupid mon amours_!"

But the girl didn't seem to mind as she left to the kitchens with him. Now-

"Bradinski. What are you doing here?"

Lee sounded mildly amused, and ninety percent shocked.

"I came to pay my respects to the dead."

Natalia didn't like him when he acted like a normal human being.

"Am I dead now?"

" _Nyet_ , but you will soon be dead if you don't come here."

Lee gave her a long stare.

"What is your brother doing here?"

"He-never mind."

The story about him was too embarrassing, too... Too... It made her ears turn red, along with her face.

"Are you sick? Do _you_ have the fever? Your face is red, and it's the color when Jones sees Ha Yeon-"

"Children?"

Ivan's voice was fluting, and Lee's, no, Ha Eung's face turned grim.

"We had better get in there. I don't want to end up dead."

"You won't."

Her answer was short, but enough to make him turn.

"And how can you assure that-"

"I won't let him."

* * *

"Any Bs or Cs in your grade?"

Ha Eung raised an eyebrow at ivan's question.

 _Is this a job interview?_

"I only have one alphabet-A."

"Height."

"Tall enough."

"Your future dream?"

"World domination."

Surprisingly. Ivan chuckled at this.

"A good dream, a good one indeed."

"Any girls?"

The quiestion sent him coughing, and spluttering.

"I... I am a modest person!"

"Good. You are at least half worth our _sestra_. I would have killed you otherwise."

They were sitting on the sofa, Ivan in the middle, Ha Eung on his left and Natalia on his right. He couldn't get what Ivan was talking about at all, but the fact that Natalia's ears were turning red wasn't good.

" _Tian_ , what is this talk about Ivan Bradinski having dinner with us-and Beijing duck? So suddenly- _aiyah_ , you children are really troublesome-"

The door had opened, and Yao was standing there, looking furious in his business suit, holding several grocery bags.

"Yao-yao!"

Ivan grinned brightly, to Yao's immense shock.

"What- Kiku, tell me this is a dream-"

"It isn't, old man."

Leon yawned, and tapped his brother on the shoulder.

"Jones came over, he's having dinner as well."

"Tell him that's outrageous-"

"He's not having dinner with us in this situation-"

"Jones, brother is here!"

Leon shouted, and the laughter resonating from the kitchen stopped. Almost instantly, Kiku, Ha Yeon, Mei and Alfred was there- _did they teleport or something?_ Kiku had flour on his hands, and Ha Yeon was wearing an apron, looking harrassed, whereas Mei looked content-she was at least confident with her cooking.

"We tried our best, making side dishes."

" _You_ cooked?"

Yao's jaw dropped, but Jones cut through Yao's surprise. Now to see, the jerk was wearing a tux, and he could smell slight perfume.

"Mr. Wang!"

"Y...Yes?"

Whatever Yao was expecting, it had not been this. The jock practically dropped to his knees in front of his brother, and blurted out loud.

"I'm going out with your sister! Please give us your blessing!"

"This is a joke."

Yao rubbed his hands, hoping Kiku would cut through and Ha Yeon would blurt about this being a joke.

"I told you this was bad timing!"

" _Hai_ , Alfred- _kun_ , you should have waited..."

"Wonderful."

And his brother dropped on the floor.

" _Hyung!_ "

" _Gege!_ "

"Yao-yao!"

"You killed him!"

* * *

"Dinner is served."

Natalia stared at the table setting. It had been very purposeful. Honda sat next to Lee, who was scowling-on her left, there was Mei, keeping her far away from Jones. Ivan was sitting next to her, which was good. Wang Yao sat at the head of the table, and-"Um... Sir? Can you stop glaring at me?"

Jones sat at the other end, trying vainly to be strong. Wang Leon was studying his phone, hashtagging something possibly. It was not good enough, someone was missing.

"Where's Lee?"

"I'm here-"

"Not you."

Yao's grim face turned kinder at the words.

"Ha Eung's stomach is still too weak for chicken-so he'll be having porridge."

"That stinks! Can't he have at least a little?"

His twin sister asked her brother with a sweet face that could have melted the ice of Antartica.

"He can't."

The words surprisingly fell from her own mouth.

"But..."

"Do you want him to puke again?"

Natalia stood from the table.

"Give me the porridge. I'll take it to him."

"Oooh, Elizaveta's missing out on all this-"

"Mei, please."

Kiku sighed, and Yao stood, passing her a bowl of porridge, along with a spoon.

"After you give him this, come straight downstairs. We can't have our guest starving, can we?"

Her eyes met the Chinaman's, kind and warm, and she could understand why Ivan had a crush on him. He was warmth, a different sort of fire from his brother, similar to his sister who Jones loved so much.

"Yes."

* * *

When Natalia had entered his room, he'd been singing.

"I can swear, I can joke, I say what's on my mind-"

"Who knew you could sing?"

Her voice wasn't snide, so he let her ask her questions.

"If I drink, if I smoke I keep up with the guys-"

It had been Ha Yeon's ultimate favorite song, but he personally thought it matched Natalia more than his sister.

"And you'll see me holding up my middle finger to the world. Fuck your ribbons and your pearls, 'Cause I'm not just a pretty girl."

The Belarusian didn't say anything more, tossing him a spoon.

"What's this for?"

"Your porridge. If you can keep it down without throwing up. But then, you're even singing. You can possibly eat it."

He could see she was holding a bowl, now.

"You don't have to hold it. Just put it down and go- you need your proteins."

"I am _not_ leaving. Till you finish that glop."

He hated porridge, but he took the bowl resentfully, forcing himself to swallow. It felt disgusting, but he couldn't throw up. Not again. She was looking at him expectantly.

"Good."

He made it through half of the bowl, gnashing his teeth at his fate. Natalia was studying him, her eyes cool.

"Why did you do that?"

"What?"

"Back at Christmas-"

She cut him off with a sweep of her hand.

"It was my fucking choice. I make a decision and I followed it."

"You deserve better."

"It's my life. Not yours. You don't get to tell me what to do. I won't be acknowledged as _just a pretty girl_."

"You deserve better."

He felt like an idiot, as he shoveled at the porridge. It was a little bit too late when he realized how queasy he was.

"Lee?"

Clutching at his mouth, he ran out of the room, heading to the third floor bathroom-and missed. Barely. Tears stung his eyes with embarrassment as he stared at the mess he'd made.

"It's okay."

She was standing behind him, and her voice was almost motherly.

"I'm sorry! I really-"

"It's okay."

"I really am, I'm so sorry-"

His voice wobbled, and he wiped his eyes, trying desperately to stare at something else.

"I'll clean this up. It's okay."

He felt a hand on his shoulder, but he ignored it. He had puked his guts out in front of her for two times in a row. He should be dead with embarrassment.

"Damn it, Ha Eung, it's okay!"

Natalia sounded exasperated.

"You will go and take a blasted shower. I'll tell your brother to get your clothes for you, and you are going back to bed straight after. Get it?"

"But... I... I need to c...clean this up.."

"I'm doing the cleaning. You. Go. Now."

As the cold water of the shower blasted over him, Ha Eung silently berated himself. Why, oh why, did he have so much bad luck?

* * *

"I heard you were sick. Poor child-"

Yao was outside, handing him his clothes, casual. He sighed, taking his stuff, drying his black hair with his towel.

"It's all right."

"You don't need to pretend to be cold, Ha Eung. You don't need to be this-"

His brother pointed at him, at the scars that ran across his back, from the times with Kiku and the brawls with Jones.

"-This what? This psycho?"

"No, no-I mean, you're not what you are."

"This is me."

Shoving himself into his clothes, he ignored his older brother, who was obviously concerned and unhappy. Let him be unhappy, a voice whispered in his head. Surprisingly, a part of him wanted to go and tell Yao that he was sorry, that he was tired and lonely. As usual, he kept his thoughts to himself, and reentered his room.

"You took long enough."

Natalia, hands on hips, glared at him.

"I'm retiring to bed. Just as you said. Why are you glaring at me?"

The girl continued to give him the evil eye, even as he crawled back in.

"Stop making me worried."

She was by the door when she said the words, and again, his two selves clashed. Part of him wanted to ignore what she had said, but the other part-

"I'm trying."

"Try harder, then."

The door closed behind her back, leaving him to be consumed in darkness.

* * *

 **I finally updated! Term has finally started, and from the next story, they'll all be a year older-their grades are going to change-the seniors will be leaving the school after this year, while the juniors be seniors. So the age will be like this.**

 **Wang Yao, Arthur Kirkland, Francis Bonnefoy, Ivan Bradinski-31**

 **Honda Kiku, Hercules Karpusi, Ludwig Beilschmidt, Feliciano Vargas-19**

 **Wang Mei, Lee Ha Yeon, Lee Ha Eung, Alfred F. Jones, Matthew Jones, Elizaveta Hedervery, Natalia Bradinski, Ekaterina Bradinski-18**

 **Wang Leon, Emil, and most of the Nordics-17**

 **Thank you all for the long wait, and I sincerely apologize.**


End file.
